
-ik2. 



Class f>'tf 
Book. C ^s.f 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



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STANDARD 

Belgian Hare Book 



A Clear and Concise Treatise on the Belgian Hare; Its 
Origin, Kinds, Growth of Industry, Sanitation and 
Construction of the Rabbitry, Selection of 
Stock, Care of the Young, Feeding, 
Diseases and Their Cures, Scor- 
ing, Marketing, Shipping, 
Etc., Etc., Etc. 



By M. D. CAPPS 



H.'.TJ^'^itATED' 



publishers 

THE HENNEBERRY COMPANY 

CHICAGO 



THE LIBRARY ©F 

60N6R£SS, 
Two Copies Reosve* 

MAR. a • 1902 

GflpyRWHT ENTRY 

ICLAS8 ^XX& N«. 

1 bl^ 

COPY a 



COPYRIGHf, 1901 
BY 

The Henneberry Company 






FOREWORD. 



The Standaed Belgian Hake Book is the 
result of years of praotioal experience, not alone 
on the part of the author, but of hundreds of able 
writers in the Poultry and Belgian Hare 
Standard. The contents of this book represents 
the cream of all thought on one of the most profit- 
able occupations now claiming the attention of 
thousands of industrious men and women, and the 
reader is assured of the utmost reliability in every 
word expressed herein, for it is the written expe- 
rience — the testimony of those who have and who 
are amassing fortunes in Belgian hare raising. 



PREFACE. 



A comparatively new industry is demanding the 
attention of tens of thousands of industrious men 
and women in all parts of the country. To what 
extent this new occupation will enter into the com- 
mercial life of the practical American, yet remains 
to be seen. It has been amply demonstrated, both 
here and in Europe, that as a wealth producing 
agency, the Belgian hare, ranks among the fore- 
most; in point of fecundity and ease of rearing, 
the industry certainly ought to become epidemic, 
and just now it looks as though it will. 

Belgian hare raising is no longer an experiment; 
it is an industry that must be reckoned with as 
one of the world's chief wealth producing agen- 
cies. When concerns are capitalized for ten, 
twenty, thirty, fifty or a hundred thousand dollars, 
as many Belgian hare companies are, we are com- 
pelled to admit the possibilities of this infant 
industry, that has already assumed gigantic pro- 
portions. Germany was the first country to see 
the utility feature of the hare business; England 
was the first to grasp the possibilities of the indus- 
5 



6 PREFACE. 

try from tlie fanciers' standpoint; but America — 
most favored of nations — sees millions in both 
branches of this great industry and henceforth she 
must be reckoned with in the world's hare market, 
just as she is in every other article of trade, com- 
merce, manufacturing — in learning, invention, 
science and the arts. 

Notwithstanding the proverbial slander that 
the American people like to be humbugged, they 
are accredited with being the shrewdest, most 
clever and far-seeing people on earth, and when 
they undertake to accomplish anything they 
invariably succeed. The Belgian hare industry is 
now within their grasp; watch developments, and 
you will see spring up before your eyes a business 
that will engage the millionaire and the laborer, 
the merchant and his clerk, doctors, lawyers, 
manufacturers, ministers — everybody in fact but 
the drone, the fop and the "weary Willies." 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

FOREWOED ^ 

PBEFACE • • • ^ 

Definitions and Teems 8 

Introduction 11 

Chapter I. The Belgian Hare Industry . 15 

Chapter II. Three Kinds of Hares . . 20 

Chapter III. The Sanitation of the Rabbitry 26 

Chapter IV. Rabbitry and How to Build It 37 

Chapter V. The Belgian Hare Standard 45 

Chapter VI. Selection of Breeding Stock 63 

Chapter VII. Care of the Young 80 

Chapter VIII. How and What to Feed . 94 

Chapter IX. Prevalent Diseases and Cures 101 

Chapter X. Raising Hares for the Market 119 

Chapter XI. Fruit Gathered from the Rab- 
bitry . . • . . 129 

Chapter XII. Crating and Feeding Expressed 

Hares .; ... 140 

Chapter XIII. Preparing Hares for the Show 

Room 147 

7 



DEFINITIONS 

OF 

TERMS USED IN THIS BOOK. 

BUCK — The male hare. 
DOE — The female hake, 
LEVERET— A young hare. 



DEWLAP — Loose flesh on throat. 

HUTCH — Box WHERE ONE or two hares are kept. 

HUEDLES — Obstructions in runs for hares to leap 
over in exercising. 

INBREEDING — Mating of doe to buck of same lit- 
ter OR OTHERWISE CLOSELY RELATED. 

KINDLE — Bringing forth, or birth of young. 
LACING — Black hairs on the tips of the ears. 
LITTER — The young of one doe. 
LOPPED — To LAY back; applied here to the ears. 
MATING— Placing male and fema^le together to 

obtain young. 
PEDIGREE — A record of parentage, 



9 
EABBITRY— A heed of babbits, or place where 

THEY ARE KEPT. 

REGISTER — An official entry of pedigree. 
RUFUS RED— Reddish bbown, yellowish red, or 

THE GOLDEN TAN OF A THOROUGHBRED BELGIAN. 

RUNS — Small yards or space in which hares can 
exercise. 

SCORING — Percentage of pedigree on a basis of 
100. 

SERVICE FEE — Charge made for mating doe with 

BUCK. 

STRAIN — A RACE OR generation of one kind. 
TICKING — Black at ends of hairs on back and 

sides. 
UTILITY— Practical, or market value. 
WEANING — Taking young from mother-doe. 
WRY FOOT — Turned to one side — a disqualifica- 



INTRODUCTION 



Much has been, written and still more has been 
said concerning the Belgian hare movement in 
America. Without entering 'into a lengthy dis- 
cussion concerning the manifold results to be 
obtained from this business in the few remarks 
necessary to place this book in a proper light 
before the thousands of intelligent men and 
women who are, or who contemplate keeping a 
rabbitry, the author wishes to call especial atten- 
tion to Chapter X relating to the utility feature 
of the business. 

• "Eaising Hares for the Market" is made a chap- 
ter in the book, and under that heading will be 
found many items that will both interest and 
amaze you as to the commercial importance of 
this little animal that has so recently come among 
us. A careful reading, not only .of this chapter, 
but of the entire book, will convince you that the 
money side is not all that should be considered in 
this or any other occupation, any more than the 
time and money spent in attending the theater, 
the ball, or going on a fishing or hunting trip; 
11 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

there are other features equally as pleasurable as 
making money, — provided, of course, the man or 
woman has some love for this timid, helpless and 
innocent little animal, dependent as it is on man 
for everything necessary for its subsistence. 

!N'ow as to the possibilities in establishing a 
profitable business with the least amount of cap- 
ital. A hundred dollars should, in three years, if 
properly handled and judiciously invested in Bel- 
gian hares, place the investor in almost affluent 
circumstances, as the following instance will 
prove: On the 18th of January, 1898, John Doe 
of Kansas City invested $200 in five hares — one 
buck and four does — and the necessary equij)ment 
and some feed. At the end of the first year, by 
careful breeding and judicious marketing of 
bucks not needed, he had 336 does and bucks left. 
He sold several bucks and a number of does, realiz- 
ing $425. The second year he enlarged his 
rabbitry at an expense of $500, imported a buck 
and two does at a cost of $205, and sold about 100 
bucks and does from his rabbitry for $1,620, or 
a little more than an average of $16 per hare. On 
the 18th of January, 1901, or three years after 
his investment of $200 in four does and a buck, 
he expects to enlarge his rabbitry to accommodate 
one thousand hares, and after paying all expenses 
incident thereto, feed and the sale of some 200 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

off-colored and not-iip-to-the-standard does and 
bucks, he is counting on going to Europe to 
inspect the rabbitries over there. Though reticent 
about his profits in the past year or two, he con- 
fesses to owning some valuable Kansas City and 
St. Louis real estate, besides enough ready cash 
to enable him to tip the lackeys while abroad 
without incurring financial loss to his extensive 
industry near Kansas City. 

Now if you^ my reader, have any ambition to 
own real estate or spend a few months in Europe, 
there is no way to more quickly realize your hopes 
than to go into the hare business right now, not 
next year, or when you "have money to throw at 
the birds," as many have sneeringly referred to 
Belgian hare raising. 

The industry has come to stay, but fancy prices 
no longer prevail to the extent that they did two 
or three years ago. Twenty-five dollars is now 
considered a good price to pay for a doe and 
seventy-five for a buck, while about half these 
amounts seem to be the prevailing prices except 
with the few who are confining their efforts to 
very high scoring animals. 



STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 




CHAPTER I. 

THE BELGIAN HAEE INDUSTEY. 

Some forty years ago the 
poultry fever began its work. 
At first only the wealthier class 
could grasp the fad, as it too 
was once called, for then fancy 
poultry was the object rather 
than the utility side. The 
farmer of that day kept only a few chickens of an 
inferior mixture of breeds, while it was the new 
breeds and pure-bred stock that was raging and 
commanding the fanciers' pocketbooks. People 
never dreamed that fancy poultry would some day 
become a business of considerable magnitude. 

As the poultry fever once grasped the country, 
today the Belgian hare fever is epidemic — only 
in a more sensible form. The poultry fanciers 
had an idea that poultry was the only small stock 
worth raising. They might have their pet dog, 

15 



10 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

cat or rabbit (the latter usually white), but they 
would be only for pleasure, not profit. For many 
years the hare has claimed the attention of 
fanciers in Europe, and by careful breeding it has 
almost reached a state of perfection. This is the 
case more especially in England, from whence we 
get the finest specimens. 

Of late years the Belgian hare has been intro- 
duced into this country, although little known or 
talked about until the last few years. The hare is 
a bright, neat and interesting animal and decidedly 
useful in furnishing a fine table meat.^. There is 
no vermin to fight, and little or no disease when 
they are properly fed and cared for. People are 
likely, and many do exclaim, ^^Oh! if you must be 
so particular I should never dare undertake rais- 
ing them." Make up your mind, to learn, for this 
business is like everything else — it requires experi- 
ence. Most beginners make the mistake of com- 
mencing with too many. It is better to start. with 
but a few (and let them be the best) and study 
their habits and requirements. 

The hare requires very little space, just the 
opposite to all other kinds of stock or even poultry. 
For those who wish to make a good beginning in 
the Belgian hare industry, build your rabbitry 
as you would a hen house. Study to supply all 
needs to the best advantage. Good ventilation, 



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17 



BELGIAN HARE INDUSTRY. 19 

space for exercise and convenience in cleaning 
hutches are the first and most important require- 
ments_, next to having good stock to commence 
with. 

The profit in growing the hare abides in its won- 
derful fecundity, gentle habits and cheapness of 
the provender required The doe brings forth 
every sixty or ninety days, according to times of 
breeding, and has from six to eleven and as 
high as fourteen in a litter. As the doe can only 
suckle eight, a white rabbit, usually an Angora or 
a less expensive rabbit, is kept for breeding to serve 
as nurse for the surplusage, while the young of 
the common rabbit are destroyed. The young Bel- 
gians grow fat at the rate of about one pound per 
month for eight months, when they are matured at 
eight pounds. 

There is no doubt but that the hare industry has 
come to stay, and there has been no other business 
that has made such rapid growth in the short time 
this little animal has been among us. While the 
cost of raising them is very small, still you cannot 
buy a pair and turn them loose and expect to have 
many (if any) ready for market in a few weeks. 
They require feeding and attention as much as any 
other stock if the best results are to be obtained. 



CHAPTER II. 

THEEE KINDS OF HARES. 

Many a hare breeder has experienced untold 
anxiety, and has felt no small measure of disap- 
pointment on inspecting a newly kindled litter 
of leverets, to find among them, although well- 
bred, one or more off colored. When we remem- 
ber the variety of hares, all of which have found 
admirers in this country, we should not be sur- 
prised or disappointed either if we find a slight 
variation in color and more especially if one or 
more are a pronounced black. 

We should bear two things in mind, first, that 
the Belgian hare is a rabbit, pure and simple; it 
is bred after the similitude of the English hare; 
and second, that there are three distinct forms, or 
types, of hares differing widely in their character- 
istics — ^the red, white and black. The first 
is the Belgian, the second is the English and 
the last or the black is the Dutch rabbit. 
Scientific breeding of the best of the three national 
representatives has given us the Belgian. In 
order to identify each, should one or more be 
found in a newly arrived litter, let us briefly Con- 
go 



n 




OnB Of ms HlOfJB^S PRIOIP BBtOIANS-lMPORTlS IN 1900. 



THREE KINDS OF HARES. 23 

sider the general make-up in the order of the 
assimilation of the prime factors entering into the 
hare we call the Belgian. 

EED BELGIAN HARE. 

Though the little red Belgian is the least of the 
three, it justly deserves first consideration, for 
whether we consider the hare from the German or 
English standpoint, it stands the same as the 
original first factor, and from it we get our back- 
ground in form, color and motion. Its color is a 
beautiful, rich red of various changing tints as 
season, condition or age may affect it. Its form is 
fine, slender, sleek and graceful, and its motion 
quick, easy, swift, shy and timorous. Hence you 
will readily see that the red is the most essential 
factor; therefore the one mostly to be considered 
and never lost sight of, for more than sixty of the 
much-coveted one hundred points in scoring for 
pedigree comes from the little red Belgian hare. 
Watch for the red. 

WHITE ENGLISH EABBIT. 

The white, or the large English rabbit, is of very 
little value, save for its bulk or size. Its color and 
ungainly form we are ever trying to wipe out or 
subdue, save on the tail. Hence, while the English 
hare has added least to the general make-up. 



24 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

English breeders have without question done most 
toward its improvement and general perfection 
along an artistes or fancier's standpoint, for the 
long, racy, graceful, sleek, handsome creature we 
have today, commanding fancy prices, is purely 
an English product, bred under the English 
standard of perfection, while the heavyweights 
may, with equal fairness, be credited to the Ger- 
mans, who have made meat the first consideration, 
and are getting their reward in millions of dollars' 
worth of the same yearly exported to England. 
Do not ignore the bulk. 

BLACK DUTCH EABBIT. 

x^ The little black Dutch rabbit, though small 
and often considered insignificant, is a very 
important factor and can never be ignored with 
impunity by either the fancier or utility breeder, 
for it is very essential to both. To the fancier he 
furnishes the points — lacing, ticking and rich 
shadings, while to the utility breeder its strength, 
hardihood and vitality must be a prime consider- 
ation, for, as all extensive breeders know, the black 
will survive where all others will perish. Its 
superior hardihood is clearly manifested by its fre- 
quent appearance among the leverets in all first 
class rabbitries. As you value the hardihood or 
beauty of your herd, don't be too anxious to weed 



THREE KINDS OF HARES. 25 

it out, but rather receive it as an assurance that all 
is well. If it fails to appear out of each one hun- 
dred born be assured that you are approaching a 
danger point, and see that you at once veer to the 
black. ' Cultivate the black in your strain if you 
wish perfection. 




GOLDEN RUSTIC, SCORE 94. 

Owned by the Fostoria Babbitry, 
Kansas City, Mo. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE SANITATION OF THE EABBITEY. 

As regards the housing of hares there are two 
principal methods in vogne, and each has its adher- 
ents. The first is the open air plan, so-called 
because the hutches are built in a shed or building 
of which the front is so arranged as to be open all 
the time from sill to roof, or so arranged as to 
have the entire front swung open when desired. 

The hutches in many of such rabbitries are of 
the closed box style with tight boards on top and 
bottom, sides and ends, and poultry mesh in front. 
Hutches constructed on this plan, even though 
placed in open buildings, or out of doors for that 
matter, do not afford the ventilation which their 
owners imagine. 

It is one of the fundamental principles of ven- 
tilation that air does not circulate and flow freely 
from point to point unless openings are so 
arranged as to allow free ingress of air and a free 
outlet of air. To make it still plainer, the air in 
such a hutch simply banks up in the hutch and 
becomes and remains foul. If any one doubts this 
statement let him place his head inside such a 

26 



SANITATION OF THE RABBITRY. 29 

hutch, well towards the back wall, and breathe the 
air for a moment. He will be convinced in short 
order. The air soon becomes foul, and as it has 
no means of purifying itself by a fresh current in 
any direction, it remains foul. As a further proof 
of this, observe your hares in such a hutch; they 
lay close to the wire netting in front, trying to get 
a whiff of fresh air, which they stand so much in 
need of. 

The way to remedy an ill-ventilated hutch is to 
cut off the back wall about four inches down the 
back, beginning at the top and cover opening with 
wire or arrange a door to swing down from top of 
hutch so it can be opened. As a matter of fact it 
should remain open all the time. If the hutches 
are made of poultry wire all around this objection 
does not hold. If, however, your hutches are 
made open all around and are exposed to cold, raw 
winds, in open rabbitries a fine crop of colds and 
pneumonia will be the result and a full graveyard 
will be the outcome. Another objection to the 
open rabbitries is the strong sunlight. Hares do 
better in dry, moderately dark houses, where they 
do not get much light. 

The other method. in vogue is the closed build- 
ing with hutches arranged to suit varying condi- 
tions of weather. These buildings should be 
arranged to suit the climatic conditions of weather 



30 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

where the rabbitry is located. In the warm cli- 
mates a building with good height of ceiling (ten 
feet is none too high to afford good ventilation), 
with a double roof (with air space between roofs) 
for free ventilation, without direct drafts, is the 
ideal home for the Belgian. Take your windows 
out of rabbitry entirely in summer on south and 
east sides, replacing them with strong wire screens. 
These will admit plenty of fresh air and keep out 
dogs and burglars. Then arrange outlets on the 
side walls near the ceiling for the foul air. Warm, 
foul air rises, and if you get the currents of air 
going in the right direction you will always have 
fresh air without direct drafts. Place the hutches 
out of the direct currents of air, but where the air 
will sweep around them, and your bunnies will 
take on new life and be as happy as clams at high 
tide. 

The same kind of a house is equally adapted to 
the colder climates, save that the walls can be lined 
with paper in very cold weather, to keep out severe 
cold, but still arrange for ventilation even in cold 
weather. Belgians enjoy cold weather, even a 
temperature of forty degrees below zero, if kept in 
a dry, warm place away from cold winds and rain. 
Make your runways partly outdoors and partly 
indoors, with sliding door to close at nights and 
other times when necessary. Hares enjoy a run on 



SANITATION OP THE RABBITRY. 33 

the snow as much as the average school boy, and 
cold, crisp weather is no reason for keeping bunnie 
indoors, if the weather is dry and not rainy, and 
free from wind and sleet. 

As to the hygiene of the hntch itself, there is 
an opportunity for great improvement. For the 
hutch made with a flat floor, straw as litter is best 
for warm weather/ because bunnie loves to brush 
the straw one side and stretch himself out at full 
length on the bare floor. It is cooler, and he 
enjoys it very much. For winter, a layer of clean 
sawdust with straw over it is the best. The drop- 
pings fall through the straw and leave a clean, 
dry place, the sawdust alone becoming wet and 
dirty. 

Hutches should be cleaned thoroughly at least 
once a week; set a certain day of the week for a 
general cleaning and never change the time for 
house cleaning afterward. In cleaning the hutch, 
first take out the hare, then after removing all lit- 
ter, etc., scrub the hutch thoroughly with soap 
and hot water. Before replacing bunnie, the hutch 
must be thoroughly dried or you may expect a 
sick animal on your hands. Sprinkle some good 
disinfectant all over the floor, sides and top of 
hutch. When dry, place clean sawdust and straw 
or hay in box and it is again ready for occupancy. 
Bunnie should be placed in a large run or in an 



84 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

extra hutch while cleaning the old one. No mat- 
ter what imiorovements are offered in self-cleaning 
hutches or those provided with false bottoms or 
shelves the hutch must be cleaned regardless of 
any additional flooring. 

Pure, clean water is essential. Hares are great 
water drinkers and the vessel should be of stone 
or crockery as they do not rust or corrode, and 
can easily be kept clean. Never use a dirty bucket 
or pail in carrying water to the hutches. The 
vessel should be some larger than a saucer and 
about two inches deep. When heavy they do not 
upset easily and the hare will not climb into the 
vessel if placed in one corner of the hutch and 
only half filled. 

Take the hares out of the boxes occasionally 
and look them over to see if they are ailing in any 
way. Sometimes their skin gets dry, harsh and 
hide-bound. Give them a little linseed once in a 
fortnight as a. tonic to improve their coat and to 
tone them up generally. Rub them down and see 
if their fur is smooth and their skin in a healthy 
condition. Sometimes they sit in the wet straw 
and their little feet and hindquarters get irritated. 
Wash them off and keep them clean, and success 
in raising Belgian hares will be your reward, as it 
is with hundreds of others. 




35 



CHAPTER IV. 

EABBITEY AND HOW TO BUILD IT. 

Properly constructed, the rabbitry should be 
built with a view to perfect sanitation and ventila- 
tion. Size and elaborateness of design depends on 
your means and the extent to which you intend 
entering into the business, but for all practical 
purposes the building should be about 20 feet 
wide by any desired length, and if but one story 
in height, it should be 10 feet to the eaves. 

A space should be left all around the inside of 
the building as well as underneath for perfect ven- 
tilation. The space inside need not be over four 
inches. The inner wall of this air chamber should 
be of very fine poultry mesh to keep out rats or 
mice. The sides should be divided into spaces four 
feet in length. Cover the front of these spaces or 
boxes (hutches) with inch wire mesh. Glass tran- 
soms should be hung from the inside so that they 
can be controlled from below. Your lower draught 
should be covered and hinged so that they can be 
opened or closed when desired. 

In the construction of the roof there should be 
a dome four feet wide and eighteen inches high 

37 



38 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

above the center of the rabbitry. This dome is 
very essential if yon desire a perfectly ventilated 
room. The sides of the dome, however, should be 
provided with glass transoms operated by cords 
from below. The lower opening supplies the fresh 
air, while the dome and eaves' opening carries off 
all foul air drawn in at the bottom. By this 
method you combine sanitation and ventilation in 
a perfectly scientific manner. 

To construct the hutches with a view to con- 
venience and to keep your rabbitry pure and free 
from all odors, make your hutches about thirty 
inches wide, twenty inches high and four or five 
feet in length. Place the first row of hutches six 
inches above the lower draught and two inches 
away from the wire walls. Make your hutch floors 
from grooved and matched lumber, put in cross- 
ways; let floor extend over back of hutch about 
one inch. Eun an eight-inch board along the back 
of hutch, above which should be placed inch wire 
mesh, designed for perfect ventilation. Divide the 
hutches with two-inch poultry mesh, placing it V- 
shape from one foot at top to nothing at bottom, 
extending across hutch width; close back end of 
this tight and make tight door for front. Now you 
have your hay feeder for two hutches complete 
in one. 

To make your nest boxes close up two feet at 




39 



HOW TO BUILD RABBITRY. 41 

back, or one fopt of each hutch; construct three 
sliding partitions, one solid for your center, the 
other two with holes near back ends for the hares 
to. get in and out, with solid fronts made into drop 
doors so that you can get to the nests. Place from 
top to bottom, next to your nest box, a board six 
inches wide with openings cut near top. To this 
attach your grain feeders. Then you complete 
front of hutch by making all of remaining space 
into one door, either hinged or made to slide. This 
completes your first row of hutches. The top, of 
course, is formed from the bottom of the next 
course of hutches. Make but three tiers high and 
cover the top tier with matched lumber. 

To equip a large rabbitry, make as above, only 
have a good well sunk at center of building, with 
pump and windmill attached; have large supply 
tank, into which this water is being constantly 
pumped. Then have a V-shaped trough, about 
one and one-half inches wide, one inch deep, 
attached to inside of board running along the back 
of your hutches, clear through to end of row of 
hutches; this should be placed in every row; also a 
spout just one-half that size beneath, and to the 
back, on outside of floor. This forms a drain for 
hutches. 

Have all these pipes, or gutters, attached to 
your tank, and arranged so as to keep a constant 



42 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

flow of fresh water running through these gutters, 
and have your hutches built slightly sloping from 
your tank so that the water will be constantly 
moving. This, too, helps to purify the air in your 
rabbitry, and if you will sit down and figure a 
little, you will readily see that with a rabbitry 
built on this plan two men can take care of a thou- 
sand hares and their progeny. 

A well ventilated building is of the greatest 
importance; but it must not be taken for granted 
that bunnie should be allowed to suffer from cold 
any more than from heat. In summer they must 
be kept as cool as possible. A basement is not a 
proper place, though if perfectly dry, well ventil- 
ated and with plenty of light, barring the sun, it 
may do. 



O aa 

hH ^ 



O H3 




43 



CHAPTER V. 

THE BELGIAN HAEE STANDAED. 

Webster defines "standard" as "that which is 
established by authority as a rule or measure of 
quantity, extent, value or quality" or "that which 
is established as a rule or model by authority, cus- 
tom or general consent." 

The Belgian hare standard is the established 
measure or model of excellence of the Belgian hare. 
Each government provides and preserves very care- 
fully a sample of every standard measure. In the 
case of the Belgian hare this is impossible. Hence 
the next best thing is done. Experts describe as 
nearly as possible their ideal of the perfect animal, 
with the estimated value of its various points, and 
success in applying the standard depends on the 
extent to which the judge has cultivated and fixed 
in his mind this perfect ideal and his ability to 
readily compare with it the specimen before him. 
From the nature and very necessity of the case this 
ideal is not the conception of any one man or any 
small body of men, but the unified conception of 
the mass of expert hare breeders of the country 
where such standard rules or prevails. 

45 



46 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

Our standard is this united conception of the 
successful breeders of England, who originally 
contrived it, and have done so much to make the 
animal approach so closely as it does to this ideal. 
It has also satisfied the taste and judgment and 
won the approval and adoption of the leading 
breeders of this country. 

It is not their original and crude ideal, but one 
arrived at after years of experience and trial 
extending far beyond the experience of any one in 
this country, where hare raising is yet in its in- 
fancy. 

Whilst these facts do not prove its absolute 
perfection, they give such evidence of its value 
that should any of us question its wisdom in any 
particular we should hesitate long and deliberate 
very maturely before daring to set up our imma- 
ture judgment and fragmentary experience against 
the mature decision of those who have brought the 
hare to his present high state of beauty and use- 
fulness. 

It should not be necessary, neither does it seem 
proper to state what that standard should always 
be. There is no controversy about this. Some have 
undertaken to set up standards of their own. But 
what is the matured standard of the English breed- 
ers^ adopted by t-he leading breeders of this coun- 
try, without classification? — only the disqualifica- 




One op the finest Bel,gians in America. 



47 



BELGIAN HARE STANDARD. 49 

tions are for the sake of clearness set forth separ- 
ately. 

To mentioii some of its uses and to indicate 
certain things necessary to its highest usefulness 
is always proper, however. 

1st. It is used and is necessary to measure the 
value of the individual specimen both absolutely 
and relatively to other individuals. That value is 
necessarily dependent on the degree of its 
approach to perfection, and, as has been seen, the 
standard is the measure of that perfection. It 
thus furnishes the only correct mode of estimating 
the commercial value of an animal, thereby laying 
a solid foundation for successful trade. 

2nd. In order to reach approximate perfection 
in breeding it is necessary to have a fixed guide 
toward which to direct all efforts. It is self-evi- 
dent that the standard of perfection is the only 
real guide to that end. 

3rd. It is necessary even to determine the 
variety of the animal, to say whether it is a Bel- 
gian, a Flemish Giant, a white rabbit, a jack rab- 
bit or a cotton tail. Its type depends upon its reas- 
onable approximation to the standard of the vari- 
ety. Without a fixed standard, therefore, the whole 
subject is plunged into inextricable confusion. In 
order to meet either of these requirements the 
standard must be universal and uniform. If every 



50 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

man has a separate ideal or standard of excellence, 
there can be no comparison or agreement on yalues, 
and no such thing as trade. Successful trade 
depends upon a demand equal or superior to the 
supply of the article of traffic. The successful 
hare merchant, therefore, is he who finds the larg- 
est number of persons who appreciate the variety 
which he raises and who is able to furnish them 
the highest types of that variety according to the 
standard by which their tastes are governed. 

He is a very bold man who seeks to force the 
market to a standard of his own. If he prefers 
another type he is at perfect liberty to cultivate 
it for his own pleasure, or, if he is convinced that 
his variation is so superior to the popular favorite 
that he can turn the tide of public favor and con- 
viction, let him follow his bent, but if so, he takes 
risks which many would shun. 

Uniformity and universality of standard are 
necessary to proper breeding, because if everyone 
breeds according to his own caprice, neither unity, 
permanency nor certainty of type will result. No 
one person, or small number of persons can develop 
a variety without too close inbreeding for the pro- 
duction of the finest specimens. "Whilst the more 
distant the relationship of the various strains and 
the greater number of skilled breeders striving 



BELGIAN HARE STANDARD. 51 

toward a comnlon end the better the prospects of 
success in developing the ideal hare. 

Another thing important to the success of the 
Belgian hare industry is the permanency of the 
standard. A change involves the education of the 
public taste to desire animals of the new type. 
During the transition state the confusion of stand- 
ards discredits both, and the whole industry. The 
uninitiated conclude that if a long-tried standard is 
discredited by experts in favor of a new, there is 
no merit at all in any standard. When the change 
is complete the whole value as thoroughbred ani- 
mals of the entire stock of those- bred to the old 
standard, which is practically all the best in exist- 
ence, is largely, if not wholly, destroyed. 

Again, a change of standard interferes with suc- 
cessful breeding. Persistency of type or feature is 
only secured by long, systematic and judicious 
mating, and everyone knows that even now the 
Belgian type is not so persistent as is to be desired. 
Black spots are by no means uncommon. Every 
change of standard necessarily increases this ten- 
dency. Besides, whatever permanency of type has 
been secured makes it more difficult to engraft the 
new feature. 

The typical Belgian is long in body, graceful in 
action, and strong in the hindquarters. The ears 
are long and erect while the animal is in motion, 



52 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

and lie flat when in repose. ^'Eufus red," is the 
reddish brown or golden color called for by the 
Standard, with black ends to the hair, called 
"Ticking." The color, however, ranges from fawn 
to black. The eye is large and bright and of deep 
hazel color. 

CONCEENING COLOR 

The true Belgian hare color, as demanded by 
the Standard, is hard to describe.. There are so 
many varying shades of rnfns red that the exact 
tint or tone is seldom found the same in any two 
animals. The various terms used to denote the 
required color are rufus red, reddish brown, cherry 
red and rust, or rusty red. White and black are 
the only other colors allowable on a good Belgian. 
The black is confined to the tips of the longer and 
coarser hairs of the fur, and is called ticking, and 
is most abundant along the back and rump; also 
the black forms the lacing or narrow border which 
edges the tips of the ears, and this lacing should be 
as distinct and clear as possible, not running down 
on the body of the ear and yet reaching clearly and 
distinctly to the very outer edge. 

The white, which is permissible on the Belgian, 
is of a creamy tint and is found underneath the 
body, the under part of tail, feet, but nowhere else? 
on the body. 



?.^ o 

t t^ 
^§ m 

-^ 01 

O -i. 

M I 




BELGIAN HARE STANDARD. 55 

A true golden red is highly desirable in a show 
specimen^ providing there is sufficient ticking, but 
as the natural tendency is to grow lighter with 
age, a dark specimen is usually a better show ani- 
mal than a light one, after six or eight months of 
age. Forelegs should be of a true golden color 
without white bars or heavy ticking. On the hind 
feet is a richer shade and clearer color, and al- 
though this is a desirable point, it is found only in 
the best specimens. Another desirable point is 
shape of hind feet, which should be slender and 
not of that heavy, coarse appearance which is pos- 
sessed by the jack rabbit. Fine breeding will 
quickly show in this feature of the general makeup. 

The dark under-color should not extend more 
than a fourth of the way up the length of the fur, 
and the lighter in color the better. Young ani- 
mals are quite imperfect in this respect, but with 
each month the under-color improves. 

It is well to bear in mind that the buck is par- 
ticularly prepotent in producing color. It is, 
therefore, of great importance that the buck 
should be of as good a color as possible. He should 
also possess good length of body and limbs, as 
long and as narrow a head as possible, and should 
be rather lightly ticked. As it is practically 
impossible to secure a buck possessing all the 
standard requirements of perfection, it is most 



56 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

important that we know which requirements are 
the most necessary for him to possess in order to 
produce fine stock. The doe must possess great 
length of body and limb, and also a long, narrow 
head. She should be quite heavily ticked, and a 
shade or two deeper in color than the buck. An 
ideal color-mating would be a buck possessing 
rather light, fiery red, known as "golden tan," 
mated with a doe of a deep, rich, ruf us red. 

The great craze for the rufus red coloring, in 
both common and pedigreed stock, has greatly 
improved the appearance of the hare of today, 
especially as to the feet, which seem to be the hard- 
est points to secure the proper coloring. Don't 
expect perfect colored feet on your common stock, 
as only highest priced stock get this, but by the 
use of a good pedigreed buck on common does, 
even with some white on front feet, you can pro- 
duce young with good feet and plenty of red on 
back of neck, chest, and also tend to increase 
length and make ticking more uniform. Like 
poultry, the Belgian hare can be judiciously bred 
to improve in color and shape until nearly perfect, 
and a great deal of the pleasure, and especially the 
profit, comes from producing such specimens. 

In color the Belgian is a yellowish red when 
mature with white upon the belly; and with long 
erect ears. They are nearly black when born; turn 



BELGIAN HARE STANDARD. 57 

almost gray when a week old^, but darken and red- 
den as they approach maturity. 

There should be care used in breeding which 
will improve the quality and color of the animal 
and make them more attractive. 

CONCEENING SCORING. 

There are five times as many 95 to 96^-point 
hares reported, as there are fowls that score 95 to 
96-|. Yet, there are one thousand fowls raised to 
one hare, and fowls for twenty-five years have been 
subject to score card applications of their standard, 
and if the system is just and best, surely 95 to 9 6^ 
should be reached in fowls with ten times the fre- 
quency as in hares. 

In the first place, weight is dodged in scoring. 
This should surely militate against the "little un^^ 
as was granted. But this evil in time will correct 
itself, for weight is as much a consideration in 
hares as in poultry, and when we reduce both to 
practical lines it becomes the one important factor 
in hare culture, as in poultry. The score card 
intelligently done, the judge can bet his last dol- 
lar that these cards will place the awards relatively 
among the seven best specimens with far more 
accuracy than by comparison; again if the decimal 
system is followed, commended cards may reach 
more than seven specimens; he compares each 



58 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

specimen to the standard, which every judge has 
by heart, and he saves the time wasted in compar- 
ing the specimen with seven others, and when the 
class is scored the cards are counted and the win- 
ners are determined at a glance, and what is more, 
the exact merit is placed by the point they score. 
If the work has been for the score that shows speci- 
mens to score 92 or more, if they are within one 
point of the money prizes — first and second — ^will 
be entitled to a commended position, which shows 
them to be eligible to first premiums in the absence 
of anything better in onr arbitrary exhibitions. 

The rabbit judges are wading through the 
slough that poultry judges waded long ago, when 
our standard was at variance with the laws 
of per cent, and when this occurs the judge, nine 
times out of ten, ignores the law and becomes a 
law unto himself. The judges of hares have 
started at too low a valuation on defects. When a 
defect is discernible at a glance, it is folly to place 
its detrimental value so low as J of one per cent — 
1-40 of a section valued at ten points. If the same 
law governed them as in poultry, they should 
count a described defect one-half point, consider- 
ing the more serious ones in a like proportion, 
they then would see their awards stand comparison 
with the poultry awards and the number scoring 
93 to 96 would show relative standing. It is a 



BELGIAN HARE STANDARD. 59 

known fact thaf the score card system for hares 
was based upon the system as used in poultry cul- 
ture. Now, the argument that a judge scored 
two specimens alike, proves nothing for the score 
card system. It only becomes a guarantee of the 
intelligence of the judge who is working. Any 
judge, whether he be a law unto himself, or 
whether that law has been established for him by 
the standard, recognizes this fact, just as some 
judges have established the decimal law in apply- 
ing all standards. Whether for horses, cattle, 
hares, or fowls, the one score card applies to all 
standards. The following score card for hares is 
used by some judges: 

Condition and weight, 10 points. 

Ears — position, carriage, color, 10 points. 

Head and eyes, with shape and color, 10 points. 

Neck and chest, with color, 10 points. 

Elbows, forelegs, feet, with color, 10 points. 

Back and loin, with color other than ticking, 10 
points. 

Length, stretch and ticking, 10 points. 

Hips, quarters, with tail color, 10 points. 

Belly, spring of ribs, with color, 10 points. 

Gambrel joint, hind legs and feet, with color, 10 
points. 

Total, 100 points. 

With each section correctly described it makes 



60 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

the work complete, and secures a perfect considera- 
tion of every part, while the even distribution of 
points compels even development that prevents 
fads stepping in to control a herd, while it protects 
against unjust considerations, which follows 
defects found in sections that have been over- 
valued. The score card works the discount, and 
if the section be over-valued, each defect becomes 
over-valued, and the very seeming advantage 
becomes an evil to the specimen. 

In America, 92 is demanded to win a first, and 
exhibitors in poultry never intend to show one to 
score less in the open class. Again, as a rule the 
best five per cent, whether cattle, fowls or hares 
are shown, with the fact in view that it is as easy 
to raise one hundred to score 92, as one to score 
93|, and as easy to raise one hundred to score 94 
as one to score 95, is it then a strange position to 
find two of the best of a large class scoring within 
five points of each other? The writer has seen 
sixty-three White Wyandottes score 92 to 96 J in 
a class of 103, and twenty that scored 94-J or bet- 
ter. The same principle will follow hare judging 
and many will score exactly the same, but in those 
cases the heaviest wins; the breaking of the tie is 
taken out of the judge's hand. This failing, the 
best shape wins over best color; weight and shape 
equal, best color decides the prize. These rules 



BELGIAN HARE STANDARD. 61 

and laws settle aU these minor questions, but the 
specimen cannot be robbed of its record of merit; 
that stands on his or her individual right, and it is 
this record that determines its valuation. It is a 
positive merit, not a comparative one, which raises 
a whole class in valuation, enabling the owner and 
breeder to sell the unplaced specimens at a price 
in keeping with that received for the winners. 
While by comparison the winner and commended 
take all the emoluments, leaving the others at a 
low price because of the want of a record. 

The following is the standard of excellence 
required by many judges and will be found inval- 
uable in scoring your own hares in the absence of a 
regular judge. This score has been adopted by the 
National Belgian Hare club of America: 
Disqualifications: — 1, Lopped or fallen ear or 
ears. 2, White front feet or white bar or bars 
on same. 3, Decidedly wry front feet. 4, Wry 
tail. 
A specimen should have the benefit of any 
doubt. 

Coloe: — Eich rufus red (not dark, smudgy 
color), carried well down sides and hind 
quarters, and as little white under the 

jaws as possible 20 

Ticking :^Eather wavy appearance and plenti- 
ful 15 



62 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

Shape: — Body — Long, thin, well tucked up 
flank, and well ribbed up; back — slightly 
arched; loins — well rounded, not choppy; . 
head — rather lengthy; muscular chest; tail 
— straight, not screwed; and altogether a 
racy appearance 20 

Eaes: — About five inches, thin, well laced on 
tips, and as far down outside edges as pos- 
sible; good color outside and inside, and 
well set on. : . . / 10 

Eyes: — Hazel color, large, round, bright and 
bold 10 

Legs and Feet: — Forefeet and legs — long, 
straight, slender, well colored and free 
from white bars; hind feet — as well col- 
ored as possible 10 

Size : — About eight pounds 5 

Condition: — Not fat, but flesh firm, like a 
race horse, and good quality of fur 5 

Without Dewlap 5 

Total 100 



CHAPTER VI. 

SELECTION OF BREEDING STOCK. 

In selecting breeding stock there are some minor 
details which should also be noted. Length of 
ankle joint in the front feet: The specimen should 
stand well up on its toes. A weak ankle joint will 
result in a deformed front foot, and is quite often 
the cause of wry foot, which is a disqualification. 
One of the most difficult defects to breed out of 
stock is any white in the front feet. 

Many persons are of the opinion that hares to 
be bred for meat only may be of any sort or kind. 
If one would stop to consider he would come to a 
very different conclusion. A razor-back hog does 
not make as good pork as a thoroughbred animal. 
The same holds good with hares. 

In selecting a pair of breeders, either for meat 
or fancy, get as high a grade as you can afford. 
Choose a lengthy animal, with a bright, round eye, 
erect ears, smooth, shining coat, good, straight 
feet. In the doe get a small head; the buck, as 
good a head as possible. It is essential that the 
buck should be as good as possible. If one cannot 
afford a choice buck, better take your doe to one 

63 



64 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

that is fine tlian to own a poor one and breed to 
tliat. Tlie same rules apply to breeding hares. 
As to other animals too close inbreeding is not 
desirable. Mate yonr pair to overcome whatever 
faults exist in the doe, and if yon are nnable to get 
the best to begin with, if yon have the blood of a 
fine line of stock and breed properly, yon can bring 
yonr stock np in time to a high standard. This can 
never be done by buying scrub stock to start with 
nor added later. 

In selecting stock do not keep too many to begin 
with. Six does and one buck are a useful stud, 
though many prefer two bucks — one a deep rich 
color and the other a bright golden tan. Get your 
does of various shades of color; do not despise the 
dark ones, but avoid all those that are gray on top 
and sides; these are useless. Dark does properly 
mated will often throw youngsters with grand 
depth of color. They cannot be too long in body 
or limbs, and they must be long and fine in fore- 
legs, the latter being entirely free from dark hairs, 
with a rich red color on chest; hind feet well cov- 
ered — the richer the color the better. Well covered 
hind feet are of great importance in breeding 
stock. The ears must be well carried, not lopping 
over in the least, and not too long or coarse; they 
must be well laced — that is to say, they must show 
a very deep black edging on the tips of the ears. 




65 



SELECTION OP BREEDING STOCK. 67 

The head should be, in both buck and doe, as long 
and fine as possible. Bucks naturally have rounder, 
thicker heads than does, but a round ball of a head 
is a great drawback on a buck for showing; there- 
fore strive after length and fineness of the head. 
The body or top color should show a deep rich red 
underneath when the fur is blown aside, and 
should be tickled with black hairs in a broken, 
wavy manner, and not even, as in the Silver and 
Gray, or the wild rabbit. Keep a sharp lookout for 
color; especially for that rich golden tan, so diffi- 
cult to describe and so hard to get. 

Pedigree is of great use, especially if you want 
to inbreed a little, or to avoid doing so; but do not 
lose sight of the fact that pedigrees may be manu- 
factured to order. So do not buy pedigree, but the 
type and color you want; and refuse any other. 
Nothing will prove cheap that you do not want; 
never mind how long the pedigree or high sound- 
ing or aristocratic the name may be. 

Mr. C. W. Bowen, manager of the Northwestern 
Belgian Hare Co., Chicago and Minneapolis, is one 
of the highest authorities on the Belgian hare in 
America. His company is the owner of the famous 
Emperor Fashoda and Fashoda King, direct sons 
of Champion Fashoda; the former is valued at 
$1,500, while the latter has been sold for $5,000. 
In the matter of selection for breeding stock the 



68 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

advice given by Mr. Bowen should not be consid- 
ered lightly. He says that while it costs a trifle 
more to start with high priced stock, the returns 
will be so much greater that one will not regret 
having paid fifty or even a hundred dollars for a 
good Belgian. Anyone contemplating raising Bel- 
gian hares will do well to consult Mr. Bowen, who 
is making a specialty of the Fashoda strain, and 
which he has found by experience to be the most 
popular as well as the most profitable of the many 
excellent strains in this country. 

The breeding doe should be finely built, long in 
limbs with a wild hare-like eye, and a long, fine, 
thin head. The front part should be fine and nar- 
row, the hindquarters roomy and strong, with the 
arched back and as long as possible from the hocks 
to the end of the toes. The ears finely set on and 
deeply laced at the tips. Such a doe, if she carries 
a fair amount of color, is one any breeder will have 
cause to be proud of. Breeders should always 
remember that shape and style generally comes 
from the doe, therefore it is one of the chief 
points, in breeding Belgians, that the doe should 
possess those good qualities. 

Speaking generally, the color comes from the 
male side. That being so, it is essential to success 
that the best colored bucks should be used for 
breeding purposes. Those possessing deep lacing 



SELECTION OF BREEDING STOCK. 69 

and well colored hind feet, even if they are a bit 
strong in build and bone, are generally the best 
sires. 

One other important matter novices are apt to 
neglect, is the proper mating to produce animals 
of the correct color and with the proper body tick- 
ing. Some think the way to breed Al specimens 
is to mate both the buck and doe possessing the 
bright rich rufus color; never was a greater mistake 
made, and those who breed on those lines will find 
that they are on the wrong track. In those bright 
colored ones you get little or no foundation, and as 
a rule you will find them deficient even in ticking 
and with very poor ear lacing. In all our breed- 
ing operations, due regard must be made for all 
points that go to make up an exhibit possessing 
the qualities of a champion. Judges require 
shape, length, fineness of limbs, long, lean heads, 
deep lacing, well colored hind feet, little or no 
ticking on the chest and fore feet, a wavy ticked 
body, and the rich rufus golden color all through, 
and if you can get the rich, deep colored blue to 
the roots of the skin, all the better will be the 
animal, both in the show pen and for breeding 
purposes. 

Eev. Geo. F. Hall, the well-known author, lec- 
turer and preacher, takes a keen interest in the 
Belgian hare industry. He is the happy father of 



70 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

three boys, and thought the care of a few animals 
would keep them out of mischief and train them 
somewhat in business at the same time. So in 
July, 1900, he purchased a few select bunnies 
from a conscientious breeder of high-grade stock. 
The result is a model home rabbitry^ located in 
the basement of the doctor's residence at 508 Eddy 
street, Chicago, operated under the firm name of 
Hall Beothees — Paul^ Barton and "Wendell, 
aged, respectively, 13, 10 and 5. The boys now 
have nearly a hundred "bunnies, some of them very 
fine. General Dash heads their stud. He was 
sired by Champion Dash. Dam Denver Beauty. 
Scored in November by Judge H. C. Halfpenny, 
Los Angeles, 95^. He is a magnificent buck, whose 
offspring thus far fully warrants his high mark- 
ings. 

Dr. Hall says Belgian hare meat will be the 
meat of the future. He predicts that good blood 
will always bring good prices, and insists that be- 
ginners should never consider anything but high- 
bred animals for foundation stock. 

SUGGESTIONS AS TO BREEDING. 

To become a successful fancier of the Belgian 
hare, many things are to be learned. The most 
essential of all, perhaps, is to make proper matings. 



SELECTION OF BREEDING STOCK. 73 

This is in itself a science, requiring careful study. 
A careless, haphazard pairing will almost invaria- 
bly produce inferior progeny — ^it is much easier 
to travel down hill than up. A successful fancier, 
one who breeds prize-winners, is he who constantly 
has in mind an exact picture of the standard or 
ideal hare. Be it an inferior or a high grade doe, he 
looks ahead for a mate that is strong in the par- 
ticular points in which the doe is deficient, thus 
building up the weak points. 

Beginners often make a serious mistake in select- 
ing a buck for their stud by not giving the subject 
sufficient thought or study. They, as well as many 
who are in the business, have little idea of the great 
importance of this feature of the industry. If you 
are in need of a; buck, look your does over care- 
fully, and if you find the majority of them too dark 
in color or heavily ticked, get a mate that is rather 
weak in these features. If you are the happy and 
fortunate possessor of a fancy doe, study her care- 
fully, note her weak and strong points. If she is 
short in coupling, be sure and stretch her young- 
sters by mating her to a buck that is long in body. 
If deficient in color, particularly of body and hind 
feet, or lacking in ticking, improve the young by 
breeding to a buck strong in these features, etc. 
Look to the main points first in preference to the 
improvement of sections of less importance. If 



74 STAisfDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

yon have a high grade buck and you cannot mate 
yonr does to him scientifically, it will be money in 
yonr pocket to spend a fee of $10, or even $25, in 
order to get proper mating. But don't mate her 
to a buck simply because he is a prize-winner, a 
champion or a multi-champion. If they do not 
mate properly, you will stand a better chance of 
securing prize-winning youngsters from some 
cheap unknown buck, provided the pair make a 
scientific mating. 

People make a very serious mistake in expect- 
ing prize-winners from an ordinary doe. It is just 
as essential to have a good doe as a good buck in 
order to get the best results. If you make a study 
of the subject you are sure to succeed. It may take 
some time, but don't expect a prize-winner with 
every litter. Eemember, there are other people in 
the business besides yourself. 

If you receive a winner in every dozen litters 
from good specimens you may consider yourself 
fortunate. Also remember that prize-winners are 
born, not made. They are often ruined before 
reaching the exhibition stage by improper feeding 
and lack of exercise. It will be harder to win prizes 
in the future in prominent shows than it has been 
in the past, as there are hundreds of wide-awake 
fanciers in the field where there was one a few 
months ago, and there will be thousands of Bel- 




Owned by the Des Flaiistes Belgian Hare Co., Chicago. 



SELECTION OP BREEDING STOCK. 77 

gians to select from next fall where there was one 
a year previous. Beginner, if you want a hand in 
the game, get to the head of the procession by 
securing the best doe you can find, make the proper 
mating and nature will do the rest. 

Always put the doe into the buck's pen and not 
vice versa. Try and get the weak points in shape, 
color, etc., of the one to be shown strongly for the 
better in the other. Thus, if the buck is dark in 
color and short in body or limbs, the doe must be 
bright in color and long and racy throughout — 
then you may hope for good results. Be very care- 
ful of inbreeding. This undoubtedly gives color 
and brings out emphatically the good points of the 
parent stock, but it does the same with all the bad 
points, such as white hairs and feet, crooked joints, 
putty noses, etc., and nearly always a decided loss 
of stamina, with snuffles, more or less. If inbreed- 
ing is tried, let it be with very sound and perfect 
stock, or not at all. It is a risky process, and often 
causes bitter disappointment and loss of time. 

Don't let your does breed too often. Four times 
a year is quite often enough, and never breed a 
doe before she is fully matured or about six months 
old. Another important point that needs atten- 
tion; if you want your stock to keep in good coat, 
never breed stock that is in moult or half through 
its coat. If you do, you will find your stock will 



78 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

jnoult at all seasons of tlie year^ and hardly ever 
be in full coat. 

The doe should be handled but little after being 
bred and not at all after the first two weeks, unless 
absolutely necessary and then only with the great- 
est of care. She should not be re-bred sooner than 
a month from time of having young. The young 
should be weaned when six weeks old. Eight young 
is all a doe should be expected to raise at one time. 
At time of kindling keep her supplied with good 
fresh water. Separate the sexes when three months 
.of age. Inbreeding should not be allowed; it will 
deteriorate the stock. Change bucks as often as 
convenient and use care and study in mating so 
that weak points in the doe may be supplied by 
corresponding strong ones in the buck and vice 
versa. Always handle gently and every hare will 
become a pet; they appreciate kindness. A doe 
should not be bred more than four times a year, 
and better results are obtained if bred only three 
times a year. 

There is an old saying that hares will breed dur- 
ing every month with an "r." "VVe believe better 
results will be obtained by giving the doe a rest in 
summer. 

Experience proves it unprofitable to breed dur- 
ing extremely hot weather. Many valuable does 
are lost if bred in July and August. Use nothing 



SELECTION OP BREEDING STOCK. 79 

but perfectly healthy animals in breeding, and 
don't use those with even a cold; it may lead to 
snuffles, or something worse. 

All hares do not need the same treatment; one 
maybe needs to be matched for color, another for 
size and shape. Get an ideal fixed in your mind 
and breed to it, and keep everlastingly at it till 
you get it. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CAEE OF THE YOUNG. 

In the following remarks on the care of the 
young, the reader will observe a seeming repeti- 
tion in the manner of caring for the yonng during 
the period of nnrsing and weaning. The opinions 
of half a dozen successful breeders are. presented, 
and though they differ slightly there is a wonderful 
unanimity as to the main facts — they are substan- 
tially in agreement. The several opinions are 
presented, from which the young breeder can form 
his own views and establish his own system of 
feeding and management, though founded mainly 
on the experience of the older and more extensive 
breeders. 

About one week before kindling you will find 
your doe taking all of her straw and starting her 
nest. Give her plenty of hay or straw to build with, 
and leave her alone to complete the same. The day 
or night previous to kindling you will find her pull- 
ing the soft fur from her own body to line her 
nest and cover the young when born. If not pre- 
vented by spreading boards or wire netting over 
the surface of the ground the doe will burrow and 

80 



OARE OF THE YOUNG. 81 

produce her young in a chamber about five feet 
under the ground. In tliis, the animal follows a 
trait of the rabbit and not of the hare; another rab- 
bit quality is that the young do not open their 
eyes until about ten days after birth^ while hares 
are born with their eyes open. But with all these 
qualities of unconformity there is no doubt that 
the animal is a hare. It has the small fore limbs 
and the large^ strong, kangaroo-like hind legs of 
the hare, and it moves by leaps and bounds. Do 
not get too curious to examine the young for a 
day or two, and then only to remove any that may 
be dead; you may rest assured that the doe knows 
more about raising her young than you do and 
ne^ds no help. 

From now on, you will need to feed liberally on 
grain and hay; also give some bread soaked in milk, 
which will help out her nursing qualities, as a 
nestful of from six to a dozen active yoimg are a 
drag on the mother, and she needs plenty to eat. 
In about two weeks you will see the young coming 
out of the nest box; a little dry oatmeal or corn- 
chops and bran in a low dish will help to get them 
started to eating and ease up a little on the mother. 
You will notice that the doe will lie on top of the 
nest box to get away from her young so as to rest. 
Provide a dry, cool place for' her to lie during the 
heat of the day. 



82 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

You will be surprised at the rapid growth of 
your litter of young. They will now begin to eat 
everything placed before them, but you must also 
bear in mind that from three weeks to three 
months of age is the critical period in the life of 
a Belgian hare. The young hare is more liable to 
slobbers at about weaning time than at any other 
period in its life. If the sick leveret is removed 
at once to a box by itself and fed on nothing but 
dry grain or oatmeal, with very little water to 
drink, the slobbers will soon disappear. 

Young hares will do just as well on good alfalfa, 
or clean hay, with a change of grain every other 
day, soaking the whole-oats over night to soften 
the hull. 

After weaning, place your young stock in a 
hutch by themselves, and feed carefully for a week 
or ten days just what they will eat up clean twice 
a day, morning and evening. 

Give a variety, but do not overfeed, and at three 
months separate males from females and place in 
large pen on ground until ready to breed. At 
this age you can keep from 50 to 100 in a pen 
together and save considerable time-in caring for 
them. 

You must see that the mother doe always has 
fresh water on hand, even if you have to get it 
five or more times a day. If possible, also, a little 



o 

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W 

^^ 

a c 
I m 
d z 

o O 




83 



CARE OF THE YOUNG. 85 

dandelion, as many does, especially with first litter, 
have fever and in their frenzy will destroy the 
young. 

If you have homeopathic remedies, give the doe 
aconite when restless, and if the eyes are blood- 
shot give her belladonna three or four times a day, 
two drops for a dose in a tablespoonful of water. 
This will cure her quickly. Next day, feed doe 
on carrots, as they increase the milk. If there is 
any dead among the young, remove them, but 
handle the live ones and mother as little as possi- 
ble, and never expose them to strong light. 

Feed the doe at least three or four times a day, 
as she will eat more than double the amount of 
food she ate before having her young. Give her 
stale bread, soaked in milk. Watch that young 
do not get too much green food. Give them, 
every morning, a mash composed of one-half fine- 
cut clean clover hay, and half oats — ^better rolled 
oats for very young hares — cornmeal and bran, in 
equal proportions. Put a little bit of salt in it 
and mix well. Moisten the whole with one-half 
sweet milk and one-half water, but only moisten it; 
do not make it mushy. This stale bread soaked 
also in partly milk and water, and good clover hay, 
is suificient to make them grow. 

See that the little hares cannot run over drink- 
ing vessel; they will die if they get wet frequently. 



86 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

Do not be afraid to feed your young growing stock 
oats once a day. It will make them strong. Hares 
do not get sick from eating oats; the trouble must 
be looked for somewhere else. Give your young 
hares considerable freedom. When you have sev- 
eral does with young about six weeks old, put 
about two dozen young hares in a wire run about 
fifteen feet square, and place a long box, or hollow 
log, in center, but see that rain does not get in. 
Leave them together until three months old; then 
separate the bucks and does. Leave the does 
together until breeding time, or when they are 
old enough to breed, at least six months, as a doe 
will stop growing in length as soon as with young. 
The does will not fight if they are brought up 
together. They will sometimes in a small pen or 
hutch, but will not in a large place where they 
can keep out of each other's way. When seven 
to nine months old, take a good buck and turn him 
loose amongst the does. The buck cannot worry 
them, if he is not needed, as they can run away; 
and in about three weeks put each doe in a sepa- 
rate run and hutch. In the coldest weather, even 
while snowing, the hares will stay outside all 
night; only when it is raining do they seek shelter. 
Hurdles in the runs of the young animals afford 
them proper exercise for lengthening the body and 
for best development. These should be about one 



CARE OF THE YOUNG. 87 

foot high and about four or five feet apart, extend- 
ing across the narrow way of the run. 

In care of the young the most important item 
to be observed is the feeding for nursing doe. 
Eolled oats, peas, carrots sparingly, bread and milli 
once a day. Many prefer a warm mash of boiled 
flaxseed, shorts, lentels and bran. Better keep 
their appetites sharp than the other extreme. 

When the youngsters begin to show themselves, 
which is in twelve to fifteen days, place a dish of 
bran at the entrance of the box. They will be 
weaned at about six weeks; it is better for both 
that they remain together about two months, or 
perhaps a little less time. It pays to give them a 
little extra care in feeding them at this time. Place 
hurdles in the pen for exercise, and give them all 
the run you can; don't sell before three months 
old, as both you and the intending purchaser at 
that time cannot get a fair idea of what they will 
be when older. 

Meat Stock Does do not require a great amount 
of room in which to exercise; in fact the least 
exertion the more meat. Chopped hay mixed with 
a little bran is excellent food, and can be fed every 
morning. 

The care of young stock really begins about 
ten days before they are born. At that time the 
doe's rations should be increased, and a good quan- 



88 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

tity of bread and milk should be added. She, also, 
should have considerable green food of some 
description, such as cabbage, carrots, parsnips or 
green alfalfa or clover hay. When the day is due 
for her to kindle it is necessary that she be sup- 
plied with an extra quantity of fresh cool water, 
as during this period she is possessed of abnormal 
thirst, and in her frenzy is quite apt to kill and 
eat the young to appease it. Do not molest her 
during this period, but wait for three or four days 
after the young are born, then move the doe from 
the hutch, and allow her to run on the rabbitry 
floor. You may then examine the young, remov- 
ing the dead, if such there be, and if the number 
of young are in excess of eight they should either 
be given to some other doe having a small litter 
of the same age or killed, as it is an extra fine 
nursing doe that will successfully raise more than 
this number. Feed the doe all she will eat, allow- 
ing food to stand before her at all times — oats, 
hay, alfalfa, green food and bread and milk if 
possible, continuing these rations until the young 
are weaned, which can be done at six weeks of 
age during warm weather, but not before eight 
or ten weeks old in cold weather. After the young 
are weaned food can be allowed to stand before 
them at all times until they are about three months 



a buck whose official, score shows perfection in form 

and symmetry in every point in body. property op 

Ben T. Hardin, Manager Beacon Hill Belgian 

Hare Co., Kansas City, Mo 



CARE OF THE YOUNG. 91 

old, as prior to this period it will not injure tlieir 
shape. 

After they are three months old^ the food should 
be cut down to just what they will eat up clean 
within one hour, as over-feeding at this age will 
render them what is termed by the breeder "pot- 
bellied/' or something of a kangaroo shape. They 
should be watched closely to avoid this, as per- 
fection in shape requires that the girth around 
the stomach should be no greater than around the 
heart. When weaned they should be placed in 
as large quarters as possible, as exercise is one 
of the most potent factors in creating an exhibi- 
tion specimen of fine shape and style, and 
it also hardens the muscles and renders the flesh 
firm, as is called for by the standard. 

The foregoing relates principally to stock raised 
for the show room and for fine breeders. 

From date of birth the care of young hares is 
left to the doe until the young begin to feed, 
which will usually be about the twelfth or four- 
teenth day. If it is desired to push them forward, 
a little bread and milk once a day may be given. 
This may be alternated with plain corn bread or 
dry chop. These, with oats, and now and then 
some oat flakes, will be found an excellent diet for 
the doe and young. 

At six weeks old the young must be taken away 



92 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

from the doe and put in pens by themselves. If 
put in with other young of about equal age, they 
should be so marked as to enable you to distin- 
guish their parentage. Usually this is done by 
clipping a very small nick in the ear,, and making 
a memorandum of the mark, so as to be able at 
any time to fix the identity of the young. After 
they are taken from the doe the most critical time 
for the young begins, and for some weeks the 
greatest care should be taken to avoid errors of 
feeding. If the doe has not been used to green 
food, none should be given to the young until they 
are past three months old, and then very sparingly 
until they are accustomed to it. 

'No soft feed should be given to a specimen 
intended for show purposes, as its flesh will be 
flabby. The best results are generally obtained by 
a strict dry food course. 

When three months old the does and bucks must 
be separated and a record kept, so that they can 
be known and no mistake made as to parentage. 
This can be done by putting in separate pens, but 
when the room is not available, the marking must 
be resorted to in order to avoid losing track of the 
parentage, as above stated. 

It seems to be needless to say that all hares must 
have plenty of fresh water at all times, and should 
be changed twice a day, and three or more times 



CARE OP THE YOUNG. 93 

in summer. A change from alfalfa to clover hay, 
and once in a while other kinds, can be used for 
a change, but alfalfa is probably the best for a 
usual feed. 

After three to four months of age a hare may 
be fed liberally of hay, all kinds of grains, sugar 
beets, cabbage, turnips, pea-pods, or anything 
from the house in the vegetable line except potato 
peelings. Very little from the table need go to 
waste. Never allow a water dish to be empty. It 
is surprising to see the amount of water that can 
be consumed by one doe, and especially one with 
young, which will drink from two weeks of age. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HOW AND WHAT TO FEED. 

In the preceding chapter mnch valuable infor- 
mation on feeding has been introduced along with 
the general care of the young. The following 
notes on how and what to feed have been gath- 
ered from the opinions of many successful 
breeders^ and are therefore more to be relied upon 
than the opinions of one person, no matter how 
successful he may have been in raising hares. Any 
one contemplating going into the Belgian hare 
business will do well to begin where the author 
did and read every word and sentence in the book; 
he will then be prepared to adopt such measures 
as have brought success to many in the hare busi- 
ness. 

How you feed depends upon what you are aim- 
ing at. If you are feeding for the show pen, you 
need to use such food as will develop the muscle 
and make the flesh hard and firm. The English 
standard of points does not call for fat, nor big 
specimens with overfeeding, or by feeding on food 
that makes too much flesh, and in that way 
destroying the shape. Great care and discretion 
94 



HOW AND WHAT TO PEED. 95 

must he used in feeding specimens for the show 
pen. Many does kindle 8 to 12 in one litter. 
When this is the case the best way is to secure 
a foster mother and divide the litter. Four or 
five youngsters are quite enough for any one doe 
to bring up^ especially if they are reared for the 
show pen. Eight from the first the doe should 
have a liberal supply of milk and bread. This 
with whole oats and a good supply of sweet hay and 
roots will give the youngsters such a start that 
they are bound to grow well and develop. Young- 
sters, that by reason of insufficient food or from 
being brought up by a doe having too many young, 
are stunted in their growth and never make good 
adults. It is far better to be satisfied with a small 
number of good ones, than to let the doe bring 
up too many and in this manner spoil the lot. 

Having got the youngsters on the move, see 
that they have plenty of room in the hutch, and 
when they get to be eight weeks old take half 
the litter from the doe. In another two days take 
one away and so on till all the litter has been 
taken away. The reason for taking them away in 
batches, is because if you take all away together 
the doe will have trouble with her milk. If the 
youngsters are taken away in batches and the milk 
dries up gradually of itself, then you need have no 
fear of the doe having milk fever. 



96 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

One of tlie best ways to treat youngsters after 
tliey have left the doe, is to put them in a large 
run. In the center, place a hurdle for them to 
jump over. Eaise the height of the hurdle as the 
youngsters grow older and can with ease jump 
over it. In this way you get muscle, shape and 
carriage, three points of importance in an exhibi- 
tion specimen. Feed twice a day and see that the 
food given each morning is cleared away before 
you give a second feeding. Eemember you can 
feed for shape and it is quite as important as- 
breeding for shape. To breed for shape and not 
to feed for shape is suicidal. On the other hand, 
to feed for shape and not to breed for shape is of 
no avail; both must go together if you wish to 
be successful. If, however, you are raising Bel- 
gians for meat, then this manner of feeding is alto- 
gether wrong. 

Feed oats and corn chop in the morning and 
oats in the evening and occasionally a little wheat. 
Alfalfa or clover hay .twice, and a little green stuff 
of some kind once a day is necessary. Don't feed 
more than they will clean up nicely before anotheT 
feeding time, and feed lightly of corn chop or any- 
thing heating in warm weather. Give a little 
oatmeal once a day for nursing does or young 
stock for awhile after weaning. Bread and milk 
once or twice a day for youngsters and does with 




97 



HOW AND WHAT TO FEED. 99 

families, is something that should not be 
neglected. Some people say "don't have too much 
milk, just enough to wet the bread/' or "don't 
have it too rich." Give them plenty of milk, fresh 
from the cow, and yon will get splendid results. 
The little fellows watch for their milk with as 
much eagerness as does a litter of pigs. The hare 
will eat almost anything that a cow, sheep or horse 
will; he is especially fond of vegetables, but care 
should be taken, when changing from dry to green 
food, not to feed too much of the latter. A change 
of diet is good. 

Along with the soft food, various fancy spices 
mixed with the meal will be found of advantage 
in giving an appetite and getting on weight at an 
early age. 

A variety of food is highly desirable, and over- 
feeding is as bad as under-feeding. Highly 
nutritious food and very little exercise tend to 
cause snuffles, by producing overheated blood, 
which becomes clogged with impurities, and dis- 
ease is sure to follow. 

Alfalfa or clover hay, green or dry, is the favor- 
ite food; meal, bread, turnips, cabbage, carrots and 
often oats soaked for three or four hours in water, 
with a teaspoonful of salt, and then drained for 
an hour or more before feeding. Oatmeal makes 

L.pfC. 



100 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

a fine feed for the young. Peach leaves and twigs 
should be given frequently. 

In summer feed sparingly of grain, better none 
than too much. It is too heating. 

Bran and oats well scalded and salted a little; 
plenty of hay and corn chops baked in a regular 
old-fashioned Johnnie cake, will fatten them in 
fine shape. 

Do not feed all they will gorge of cabbage or 
any other green stuff. It will bloat the old ones 
and give the young scours. 

Feed no damaged hay or grain; nothing but 
clear, bright hay and plump grain should be fed 
to any stock. 

DonH feed raw potato peelings. They have 
proven fatal in many instances, and it is best to 
avoid feeding anything known to be poisonous, 
or having a bad effect on the health of the animal. 

Do not forget to feed salt. We would soon 
crave it ourselves if deprived the taste of it for 
an indefinite length of time. 

Cottonwood branches and leaves, especially 
peach leaves, are well liked by the hares- and must 
be beneficial. They seem to crave something 
bitter. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PEEYALENT DISEASES AND CUBES. 

Treat your stock without handling, if possible; 
this is the first important item to be considered, 
and is the first remedy to be prescribed for all 
diseases. It might be added that this caution 
applies to all animals, fowls, etc. 

The following list of diseases is as near perfect 
as it can now be made, owing to the comparatively 
limited knowledge we have of the hare as yet. 
While the number is, after all, quite large, still 
it is seldom that one herd is ever afiiicted ' with 
more than two or three at one time and by apply- 
ing the following remedies to the afflicted animal, 
according to the nature of his ailment, you will 
prevent not only the spread of any particular dis- 
ease which may have attacked your herd, but fur- 
ther complications resulting from neglect: 

SNUFFLES, OR INFLUENZA. 

The colds that are "caught" in damp, nasty 
weather are different from those produced by dry 
cold winds, both in rabbits and human beings, but 
the difference in distinguishing and treating them 

101 



102 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

is too technical for the practical use of the breeder. 

Hydrogen peroxide, hydrozone, pyrozone, pero- 
gen, etc., are all the same thing as peroxide of 
hydrogen. The different names are used by dif- 
ferent manufacturing chemists to avoid infringing 
on the trade marks of competitors. 

Every hare that sneezes is not a subject for 
treatment as above. Some sneeze nearly every 
time they begin to eat. They inhale a little dust 
from their hay or oats, and it causes them to 
sneeze. On examination, their nostrils will be 
found to be dry. Some hares have chronic catarrh. 
They had a touch of influenza at one time and 
got over the acute form themselves, or got over 
it in spite of improper treatment, which is the 
same thing. They will live just as long in this 
condition as those that are not so afflicted — sneez- 
ing considerable in wet, nasty weather, and stop- 
ping almost entirely in warm, dry weather. If 
a very valuable animal, and you are determined 
to cure it, go to a homeopathic physician, or a 
homeopathic pharmacy, and get one-half ounce of 
natrum carb. 3X (which is nothing more nor less 
than common baking soda, but which has been 
refined in sugar of milk) and give what will lie on 
a small knife blade, twice daily. In addition, get 
10 cents' worth of albolene (refined Eussian 
petroleum) and, with the dropper, put three or 



DISEASES AND CURES. 103 

four drops in each nostril once a day. If you find 
it necessary to use pero'xide of liydj'ogen more 
than two or three times in acute influenza, as sug- 
gested above, an occasional application of the 
albolene will keep the nostrils from getting raw 
and needlessly paining the hare under treatment. 
The natrum carh. will cure the majority of cases 
of chronic catarrh in time. Don^t give crude bak- 
ing soda. The refined drug possesses an entirely 
different curative principle from the crude drug. 
It must be understood that fat is composed of 
margarine, pelmatine and sterine. The fatty 
degeneration which takes place in the liver is 
caused by the absence of the margarine, which 
gives body to the fat, without which it is simply 
an oil, and becomes a foreign bodyr This oily 
substance mixes wdth the bi-carbonate of soda in 
the blood and forms a soap. The organs are 
affected by this sodo-fat. Being a foreign sub- 
stance, it becomes an irritant and must be gotten 
rid of. It therefore escapes through the avenues 
of least resistance, which are the lungs; this allows 
its further escape through the liostrils and pro- 
duces the disease which is called 

SNUFFLES. 

The fat enters into the circulation and supplies 
heat to the body, and when there is an absence of 



104 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

margarine, this cannot take place, and such a 
condition produces a chill. An accumulation 
about the liver is caused, which forms a foreign 
nodule, which collects and shuts off excretion. The 
result is a degeneration in the life forces. 

Treatment should consist of such remedies as 
will stimulate the skin, kidneys and bowels. The 
disease is contagious, therefore animals so afficted 
should be confined in different quarters from 
healthy ones. 

When an animal is found to be suffering from 
snuffles take listerine one part to five parts water 
and using an atomizer, which can be purchased 
at any drug store, spray the nostrils thoroughly, 
holding the atomizer about a foot from the nose. 
This treatment should be repeated several times 
daily in severe cases until the animal is cured. 
Grive internally five drops of the following, three 
times daily: Tincture aconite root, one-half 
drachm; syrup of squills, one drachm; syrup of 
ipecac, two drachms; spirits nitre, three drachms; 
water to make four ounces; mix. Given in doses 
of three drops once or twice will effect a cure. 

In treating snuffles, which is nothing more nor 
less than "a cold in the head," such as human 
beings suffer from, peroxide of hydrogen is a sov- 
ereign remedy. If used the first or second day 
of the cold, one or two applications will be suffi- 



DISEASES AND CURES. 105 

cient. Peroxide of hydrogen is the greatest 
germicide ever discovered — ^far superior to lister- 
ine. Fill a medicine dropper about half full and 
squirt half the quantity thus taken into each 
nostril. Do not apply oftener than twice daily. If 
the case has been neglected for a few days and the 
nose has stopped running, the cold has passed to 
the bronchial tubes or the lungs, the hare begins 
to cough, and you soon have a case of lung fever 
on your hands. At this stage, before the lungs 
become too much involved, some good cough medi- 
cine will generally cure, if begun in time. Shiloh's 
Cure for Consumption is one of the best '^^ready 
made^^ medicines known for this purpose. Give 
three or four drops by means of the dropper in the 
mouth, three times a day. Don't give too large 
a dose, nor too often, or it will do more harm than 
good. (Which is true of a good many good medi- 
cines.) The cough syrup should be diluted with 
water. Take a small, clean vial and fill half full 
of cough- syrup, then fill up with water. By thus 
diluting, it will work better in the dropper, and 
is just as effective in cure. When a cold has 
reached this stage, the peroxide of hydrogen is 
. not so effective, but a couple of applications may 
be beneficial. 

The use of quinine in the treatment of hares 
will not be effective twice in a hundred cases. 



106 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

Quinine is a valuable remedy with a wide range of 
action, and is a powerful stimulant^ but it will not 
cure a cold except in the formative stage. When 
3^ou first feel that you are taking cold — before you 
are thoroughly infected — a dose or two of quinine 
taken half hour apart will generally stimulate you 
to such a degree that the infection is immediately 
checked. After a cold has become thoroughly 
"set," quinine will not touch it, unless it is of a 
nature that specifically calls for the drug — head 
feels two or three times larger than it is, all stuffed 
up and roaring. These conditions you can hardly 
ever meet in a rabbit, and its (quinine) use is 
worthless. 

Snuffles is constitutional; so abandon local 
treatment. Cayenne pepper spread on toasted 
bread is good in advanced stages, used morning 
and evening. Mountain sage and quinine is suffi- 
cient in the first stage. Copperas and sulphur in 
damp bran are fine medicines for hares that are 
run down, and dull coats. The above prescrip- 
tions can be given in such large doses that it would 
frighten any person until experience taught one 
that a hare can take almost as much as a man, and 
in some cases more. 

SLOBBERS OE INDIGESTION. 
When you notice the under jaw all wet, that's 




107 



DISEASES AND CURES. 109 

a good sign of slobbers, and, i*f you let it go, the 
saliva will soon wet the breast and front feet. 

Slobbers is evidence of a sonr stomach, but is of 
a nature that readily yields to a germicide. It is 
caused by dirty food, a lack of variety in food, 
or unassimilated food, in the very young. 
Peroxide of hydrogen is the remedy. Three or 
four drops given in the mouth with the dropper. 
One or two doses will cure. Young hares more 
especially, but old ones as well, that have once had 
the slobbers, are naturally weak in their digestive 
functions and will get the affection again at the 
slightest irregularity in feed, sometimes showing 
a touch of it every few weeks. Some hares never 
have it. However, three or four grains of sulphate 
of zinc, added to a four ounce bottle of peroxide 
of hydrogen, won^t hurt anything, and if the 
"doctor" is bound to mix something, go ahead 
and put it in. It won't hurt the peroxide of 
hydrogen for the nasal applications in influenza, 
either, so you can use the same bottle for all pur- 
poses herein mentioned. Be careful to keep the 
bottle in a cool, dark place, however, and well 
corked, as otherwise it will lose its strength. A 
fresh bottle is to be recommended every few 
months for fear the old may have deteriorated too 
much. 

Slobbers is indigestion pure and simple, and 



110 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

why use a disinfectant and poison such as pyrozone 
and sulphate of zinc? Listerine is excellent for 
weak eyes and is good for the stomach; apply it 
to an ulcer or sore and it will remove every particle 
of pus; open an abscess and apply locally and no 
trouble can arise from insects in hot weather. 
Slobbers can be cured at once by a feed or two of 
green dandelions and Cottonwood leaves and 
branches. 

The method of feeding hares in England en- 
tirely eliminates the existence of slobbers. The 
principal difference in feeding there and here is 
said to be in the quantity given. There, food and 
water is never allowed to remain in the hutches, 
and the amount allowed each animal is a handful 
of oats and a wisp of hay for each twenty-four 
hours, with a drink of water in the morning, and 
the usual number of young given a doe there is 
four, often less. 

BLINDj^ESS m YOUNG. 

Blindness in young, this is generally caused 
by the ammonia arising from the dung and urine 
in the hutch. It will be noticed that the eyes are 
closed and swollen. Bathe with warm milk and 
water, carefully pressing them open. After cleans- 
ing and drying with a soft rag, apply white oint- 
ment or vaseline. Eepeat it daily. 



DISEASES AND CURBS. Ill 

CONVULSIONS. 

Convulsions are often due to overfeeding. The 
animals get too fat. Many breeders feed too much. 
Keep the hares in condition, but not fat unless for 
the market. Feed rather too little than too much 
and your hares will not have convulsions, or by a 
system of dieting cure those who are affl-icted. 

BATTLES. 

Rattles is noticeable by a rattling noise in the 
nose and throat, accompanied by hard breathing, 
loss of appetite and the animal moping. This is 
a form of cold, and is generally caused by indiges- 
tion. It is the most dreaded of all maladies, for 
if not promptly treated it will end in pneumonia. 
Treatment: Discontinue all green feed, such as 
alfalfa, and feed only grain, hay, oats or straw. 
Give 6 drops of arsenicum in a cup of water in 
place of ordinary drinking water. Eenew daily 
until cured. 

SCOURS. 

The most deadly complaint the rabbit family is 
heir to is scours. It is caused by careless feeding 
or by decayed or dewy green food. The excre- 
ment is soft, showing extreme looseness of the 
bowels. Stop the supply of green food. Feed hay 



5TANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

and oats. Mix arrowroot with cold water as thick 
as can be given with a spoon and give as much as 
the animal will take. 

MOULTING. 

This period is a critical stage of young hare life. 
With good care and proper treatment, though, 
they will pull through. Keep warm, give plenty 
of clean straw bedding and give nutritious food; 
increase the warm mash to twice daily. 

PAEALYSIS. 

Give prompt treatment on the first indications 
of this disease. Eemove the patient to warm quar- 
ters and to a board floor. Give, once a day, a pill 
made up of 2 grs. camphor and 1 gr. sulphate of 
iron; add enough powdered licorice and honey to 
make one pill. Gently rub the back from shoulder 
to rump with some good liniment of plain eucalyp- 
tus oil every other day. Feed nutritious food. 

Kidney trouble is the cause of paralysis of hind 
legs. There is no cure when the disease has reached 
that stage. 

MANGE. 

This is infectious and hard to cure. If the 
animal attacked is not a very valuable one it had 
better be killed. The simplest and most effective 



DISEASES AND CURES. 113 

remedy is flour of sulphur, sprinkled all over the 
animal once a day; also give a little in the food. 
For mange, take twelve oimces of cottonseed oil 
and four ounces of kerosene, mix, and then add 
a sufficient quantity of sulphur to bring it to the 
consistency of cream. Apply with the hand, rub- 
bing in well on all sore or mangy spots. 

PNEUMONIA. 

Pneumonia can be overcome if taken in time 
and enough cayenne pepper and quinine forced 
into the hare's nostrils to compel it to sneeze; then 
the danger is over. 

ABSCESSES. 

These come from various causes (either impure 
blood or hereditary), over-feeding, from a scratch 
or a bite, bruise, etc. An abscess is generally 
found on the surface and develops rapidly. These 
are easily treated and are not particularly danger- 
ous. But those that form internally generally 
prove fatal, as they are. not discovered until too 
late. Treatment: When ripe, clip the fur from 
off the swelling, then open with a lance. Squeeze 
out all the pus as tenderly as possible. Wash 
with warm water and permanganate of potassium. 



114 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

Dissolve one grain to a pint of water. Dust the 
wound with flour or sulphur. Repeat every day 
until cured. 

EARACHE. 

When you notice one holding its head side- 
ways^ and partly drooping one ear, with a general 
look of distress on its face, that's a sure symptom 
of earache. Occasionally a hare "catches cold'' in 
the ear ; the result is earache, just like a boy or girl, 
that has been out coasting after school against 
parental orders. A drop of Pulsatilla in the 
affected ear will give instant relief. If the 
trouble goes further and, on examination of the 
ear there is pus in evidence, a quarter of a dropper 
full of the peroxide of hydrogen will cure it. Don't 
put too much peroxide or anything else in the ear, 
unless it be diluted with warm water, which both 
cleanses and relieves. The peroxide burns, when 
applied to a raw surface, and will cause the hare 
to shake its ears so violently that the tendons will 
be broken and a lopped ear will result. 

If you get the earache, put a couple of drops of 
the Pulsatilla on a piece of cotton and put in the 
ear; or, syringe the ear with water as warm as can 
be borne, and note the instant relief from either 
treatment. It has the same effect on bunny. 




115 



DISEASES AND CURES. 117 

CANKEE IN EAR. 

This may be detected by a discharge from the 
ear and by the rabbit holding its head to one side. 
It is very painful and requires careful treatment. 
Clean the inside of the ear with a damp cloth or 
sponge, then apply a lotion of snlphate of zinc, 13 
grains; water, two ounces; wine of opium, one 
drachm; half a teaspoonful poured into the ear 
twice a day. Keep rabbit warm and feed nutritious 
food. Or wash thoroughly with warm water and 
castile soap, rinse, dry, and apply once daily a 
sufficient quantity of boracic acid, working it well 
down into the ear. 

If the cankerous condition continues for sev- 
eral days, use the albolene occasionally. It is both 
antiseptic and soothing. 

COLIC. 

Caused by exposure to draughts, indigestion or 
constipation. The animal has bloated bowels, 
seems restless and in pain. May be seen some- 
times drawing the legs up to the belly and then 
stretching them out. Dissolve one-half of one 
Beecham pill or a Ripan tabule (the former pre- 
ferred) in a tablespoonful of water as a dose once 
a day. Feed oats and bran; give very little green 
stuff. 



118 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

CONSTIPATIOK 

Symptoms: Sitting in a corner; loss of appetite; 
body sometimes swollen; also noticeable by the 
absence of any droppings. If green food fails to 
give relief, give half a teaspoonful of Syrup of 
Figs or castor oil twice a day nntil relieved. 

LOOSENESS AND DIAREHOEA. 

Yonng stock are most liable to this trouble. It 
is caused by too much green food or other im- 
proper feeding. Do not make the common mis- 
take of giving some severe astringent, but assist 
nature. Treatment: Give three times a day 
a teaspoonful of warm milk slightly thickened with 
arrowroot or flour, and add a little ground cinna- 
mon. Feed dry food for a few days. 



CHAPTER X. 

RAISING FOR THE MARKET. 

Some thirty or thirty-five years ago the colonists 
in Australia and New Zealand formed societies 
for the introduction and breeding of hares, in 
order that they might hunt them as in England. 
The hares increased at the rate of ten litters a 
year, and the whole country was soon overrun with 
them. They consumed the herbage up to the very 
doors of the farm-house, destroyed orchards and 
vegetable gardens, and caused the abandonment 
of land that had formerly produced thirty bushels 
of .wheat and sixty bushels of barley to the acre. 
They ate the grass down to the roots, turning 
immense tracts of pasture into desert, and driving 
both sheep and farmers from vast sections of the 
country. The same energy that had been dis- 
played in introducing the pests was expended in 
attempts to exterminate them. Large sums were 
spent in poisons, shooting, trapping and hunting 
with ferrets, and poisoning with arsenic, strych- 
nine and phosphorus. In this way millions of 
them were destroyed in a few years, but still they 
continued to multiply. 

119 ^ 



120 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

The Belgian hare is more prolific in producing 
offspring than is the jack rabbit of Kansas that 
the state paid over $50,000 in a single year in pelt 
bounties to half way relieve herself of, and to 
which other states made even greater sacrifices. 

Frequently some alarmist, with his nerves on 
edge, gains control of pencil and paper long 
enough to get up similar stories to the above and 
gets some publisher, who is looking for something 
startling for his next edition, to print it. These 
things come out regularly, just so often, and still 
the nobby hare, with his winning ways, continues 
an easy winner and is gaining ground in every 
part of the United States at a steady pace. 

The growth of this wonderful little animal hag 
been phenomenal; probably half the towns in the 
Ignited States have their representatives of the 
Belgian hare. Costing but a few cents per month 
to feed one, as they are practically free from dis- 
ease in a dry climate, it is no wonder they have 
had such a boom. It is almost impossible to calcu- 
late what the industry is valued at at present. 
Probably no one knows. Taking into account the 
vast capital that has been invested in this animal 
within the last few months, it has set the Amer- 
ican people to thinking. Surely these men know 
what they are doing. A man hesitates a good 



RAISING FOR THE MARKET. 121 

while before investing a lar^e amount of money, 
but there is no surer investment than buying 
strictly first-class Belgian hares. 

The actual possibilities of one good sound Bel- 
gian doe is amazing. Suppose she is bred to a 
fine high scoring buck. She has, in thirty days^ 
time at the least, six young; this is a low estimate, 
but it is better to under than over estimate; she 
is worth at the end of six weeks with her young 
$50, if she is a good doe. Can any cow beat that? 
It takes a good cow to bring $50 with her calf 
nowadays. The doe is bred again after a lapse 
of four weeks for rest, and in thirty days she has 
her second batch of six young. Her first batch are 
now worth $10 each at the lowest estimate; this is 
$60, add what her second litter is worth at six 
weeks to this and she, with her two litters is worth 
$110. Her young (first) are now two months old. 
They are getting more valuable all the time. We 
will say they are worth $15 each now. The doe 
is almost ready for her third litter, and so on it 
goes. 

A good doe should raise you at least 25 good 
does in one year. For the capital invested and 
the labor, time, feed, etc., involved there is no 
better investment in this country. We will now 
look at the meat question. 

An average doe, that is, one that is of good size, 



122 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 



will raise no less than 200 pounds of meat in a 
year at the lowest estimate, which at $ .25 per 
pound, is worth $50; so there is a profit in any 
part of the business. Ten years from now, possi- 
bly in less time, there will be Belgian hare meat 
booths alongside of the beef booths and there will 
be far greater preference for the former. 

Do not be afraid you will overstock the country 
when once you start in. This country is large and 
people all seem to eat. They will eat all you can 
raise. 

When every one can understand that the more 
who succeed will not lessen but increase the 
demand^ the hare will take his proper place at the 
head of the list of meat producers. We know of 
lots of people who raise eggs and spring chickens, 
but how many of them have just all they can use 
of either? 

While the price of beef keeps up, and good steers 
are worth 7 cents on foot, there is little danger 
of the Belgian hare business being overdone. A 
hare 6 months old will dress from five or six 
pounds^ and bring 15 cents per pound. It may be 
that the immense number being, bred may reduce 
the selling value, but at a lower figure than now 
paid there would be a fair profit. 

What will produce a good, healthy, vigorous 
growth, is essential for growing Belgian hares for 



RAISING FOR THE MARKET. 123 

market. This is imderstood to mean a market as 
meat. If to be raised for meat only^, without refer- 
ence to the grade as per standard, mate for size 
and weight and pay no attention to keeping the 
young, so as to be able to pedigree them; for mar- 
ket, that would be unnecessary, though the best 
results in producing meat can only be attained 
from well bred stock. The flesh is finer and more 
delicate than the mongrels, bred haphazard. 
There is less waste in bone, as well as being finer 
meat. The hares, either for market or fancy, must 
be kept in clean quarters, whether in hutch or 
.pen. Dust and dirt are dangerous; fresh, pure 
air is necessary. Less attention to light is required 
when the hares are for market, and the young can 
be left in pens until they are ready, but not in. 
large numbers crowded into close quarters. Not 
more than eight should be in a pen four by six 
feet. 

Corn is a great flesh producer and can be fed 
in .very many ways. Hares like it, eat it readily, 
and thrive on it. But it must never be fed in a 
sloppy state, or left to stand until sour. Most 
persons who fail in the Belgian hare industry are 
those who do not give attention to the details of 
the business — ^the little things, such as taking 
away sour or stale feed, looking into nest boxes 
and keeping all parts clean. It is in such things 



124 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

that success lies, and tliey must be attended to, 
whether raising for market or not. 

Those raising for the market only should, after 
the stock is weaned, feed a small amount of corn 
chop, slightly moistened with milk or water, once 
each day, and no green food whatever should be 
fed, as it is weight and not shape we are breeding 
for. One exception to this green food is celery. 
Where scraps of celery can be readily obtained 
they may be fed to young stock with excellent 
results, as it adds greatly to the flavor of the meat. 
It is needless to say that when raising for the 
market the heaviest stock, provided, however, that 
it is pure bred, should be selected, but we would 
advise no one, if raising for the market, to breed 
poorly marked, unpedigreed Belgians, as the stock 
should be of such a quality that the best may be 
selected and sold for breeding purposes. Pedi- 
grees, while some trouble to keep, are of great 
value in selling the stock. By pedigrees, we mean 
an ancestry of known quality. 

The most profitable age at which to kill for the 
market is about five months, as after that age the 
stock does not increase at a proportionately rapid 
rate. The cost up to that age for producing the 
meat is about three and one-half cents per pound 
dressed, and the average retail selling price 
throughout the country ranges from fifteen to 



RAISING FOR THE MARKET. 125 

thirty cents per pound. In killing a hare,, grasp 
it by the ears and give it a sharp blow across the 
head, directly over the eyes; this stuns the animal, 
and before it recovers, its head should be cut off, 
and the carcass well bled. If the pelt is to be pre- 
served, it should be slit down the inside lengthwise 
and up the inside of the hind legs. If the pelt is 
not to be considered, the quickest way to skin a 
hare is to girdle it around the stomach and draw 
the skin down over the head, and up over the hind 
feet, very similar to pulling a kid glove off the 
hand. 

To take the skin off whole, cut from hock joint 
across vent to hock on opposite side, and draw 
the pelt off the head, and cut off. Then place on 
a stretcher made of half-inch board. Cut six 
inches wide at the top and four inches at the 
bottom. Cut this in two parts, from end to end. 
Stretch the pelt over the two, placing edges to- 
gether^ and rub salt over the pelt while fresh, and 
then sprinkle with powdered alum and let dry. 
When about dry take off the boards and rub with 
the hands until dry. The skin will then be soft like 
buckskin. Preserve from moths as you would any 
other furs. Immediately after skinning the 
animal, it should be plunged for an instant into 
scalding water, and then allowed to lay in ice 



126 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

water until entirely cold. It is then ready for 
market. 

The problem of how to dispose of the meat pro- 
duced by breeders of this animal seems to be a 
source of some anxiety with a few breeders. The 
Belgian is probably the greatest producer of flesh 
of all the smaller animals and rivals some of the 
larger ones. A number one breeding doe will 
produce forty young a year. Some of the heavy 
weights will even exceed this. Forty young when 
mature will weigh an average of 8 pounds each, 
an aggregate of 320 pounds per year, at 15 cents 
per pound, a total of $48 from one doe in a year. 
This may appear an exaggeration to some, but 
there are thousands of breeders who will confirm 
this statement. Many heavy weights will exceed 
this average. 

The Belgian has no peer, when dressed prop- 
erly and ready for the oven or pan. The clear 
white meat looks fit for anyone's table. If prop- 
erly cooked and served, it certainly is more health- 
ful, clean and palatable than any other meat 
product. It is superior to chicken or turkey and 
can be produced at less cost than -either, and there 
is less waste. A California paper says that when 
first offered in the markets there the flesh sold for 
$1 per pound; that it can be had at many first- 
class meat stalls now for 15 and 25 cents per 



RAISING FOR THE MARKET. 127 

pound. Many have figured the cost of producing 
the meat and found that a hare four months old, 
if all the feed is bought at present market prices, 
will cost about 15 cents. The pelt is worth the 
cost of the hare, so that the meat value is clear 
profit. If the business is carried on with reason- 
able economy, and on a large scale, it cannot help 
but be profitable. The question as to where we 
are to find a market for the meat, is what we have 
yet to settle. The people are not familiar with 
the Belgian as food, they must be educated to 
appreciate them. If properly presented to the 
knowledge of the people we shall quickly have a 
brisk demand for the meat. How shall we bring 
them before the public? It is useless to advertise 
an article for sale when you have none and cannot 
get them. At present we have none for sale for 
food. Eaisers use one now and then for their own 
table, but if any real demand existed here for the 
meat, as in European countries, it would not be 
possible to supply it. The real value of the Belgian 
is as a food product and we shall have to calculate 
our future profits on a basis of its value as meat. 
Some will undoubtedly continue to breed for 
fancy a class of hares that will be of practically lit- 
tle importance as a producer of food. They will 
become a distinct class and differ very materially 
from the hare we know as the Belgian of today. 



128 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

This tendency is already distinctly marked and will 
be more apparent in coming years. "We are not far 
enough along in our experience as breeders, any of 
ns, to be able to give out much of value as to what 
the future of our business will be in the matter 
of market, or market value of meat, but this will 
soon be determined as some are even now accumu- 
lating a surplus that must be disposed of for what 
they will bring as meat. When that time comes 
we will have created a demand for the flesh as 
food, that will be equal to the supply. 



CHAPTER XI. 

FKUIT GATHERED FROM THE RABBITRY. 

To undertake more than one can do rightly is 
to court failure. 

Careless management will cause serious loss 
from disease. 

Intelligent management will make your stock 
a source of revenue. 

Pens and hutches that are cleaned daily need 
very little disinfecting. 

Give the hares as much exercise as possible. 
They require it. 

Poor stock is dear at any price. Buy only from 
reliable breeders. 

Lay in a supply of turnips^ cabbage, etc., for 
the rabbits and cavies in winter. 

Do not let your stock suffer from cold or 
hunger. Provide comfortable quarters for them. 

Your rabbits are prisoners and they should have 
good care. To neglect them is the worst kind of 
cruelty. 

Have a regular time to feed your stock and 
they will soon learn to look for you as the feeding 
hour approaches. 

Stock fanciers should not attempt too much. 

129 



130 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

Better raise a few good specimens than any num- 
ber of poor ones. 

Give your stock a variety of feed. They don't 
relish the same thing over and over again. Keep 
them guessing as to what their next meal will con- 
sist of. 

Thoroughly whitewash the pens and hutches at 
least twice a year. Three or four times a year is 
better. Add a little crude carbolic acid to the 
whitewash as a disinfectant. 

Look to your buck for color and to the doe for 
size and shape. The better the parent stock the 
better the youngsters. 

Dampness and dirt are the Belgian's worst 
enemy; avoid these and many difficulties will be 
overcome. 

Watch for barren does^ but don't give them up 
too soon; some prove in the end to be excellent 
breeders. 

Don't keep old does to take up room; their use- 
fulness is about over; better market them. 

The farmer, the business man of the city, the 
boy and the girl, can all increase their income by 
keeping a few Belgian hares. 

The resemblance of the Belgian to the common 
rabbit is only in outward appearance. 

The flavor of Belgian meat is equal to quail, 
and soon will be far more easily obtained. 




131 



FRUIT FROM THE RABBITRY. 133 

The meat of the Belgian hare is white in ap- 
pearance, without the strong taste of the common 
wi^d rabbit. 

Begin with a few and grow into the business and 
yon will get experience at less cost financially. 
Experience keeps a dear sc'hool, but it is about the 
only one that really amounts to much, for we give 
heed to lessons learned there. 

In raising hares for the market run them in 
bunches olnot more than twenty-five at weaning 
time. 

There is an increasing market for Belgian hides; 
they are strong, tan nicely and are used for robes 
and in the manufacture of felt hats. 

Be sure you are suited to the business and then 
go ahead. Know what you are trying to do and 
the battle is half won. 

Dress the hare quickly and throw immediately 
into cold or ice water to draw out the animal heat. 

Learn to cook the hare properly and then give 
each new customer your receipt. Cooked right, 
doctors tell us, they are easily digested by invalids. 

Slow heat in a tightly covered vessel until the 
fibers are broken apart will bring out the delicate 
flavor. The great popularity of the Belgian is its 
flavor and when properly cooked his fame will not 
wane. 

Don't expect to grow independently rich from 



134 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

one pair of hares costing $100 or less. You must 
bny good stock if yon sell good stock. Bnt when 
some one tells yon there is no money in hares, 
make np yonr mind it is something wrong with 
the person. 

Water once a day in winter is enough. Uhen 
they have drnnk nntil satisfied empty the dish 
so there will not be a lot to turn over and make 
more dampness to fight. 

Eaise good stock, but don't let it eat up all the 
profits. Cull closely and don't keep a lot of bucks 
in the way hoping for an order for each one at 
$50; better dress them at 50 cents each and make 
room for the next lot. Keep them moving. 

There is bound to be two classes of breeders; 
the one for looks and the other for use. Each 
has a place. A thin, gas pipe specimen will not 
have as much beauty to the eyes of a butcher as 
one showing meat. Compare a race horse and 
one of the noble, good natured draft horses, or a 
Jersey cow with a big, fat Hereford — ^both have 
beauty, who can say which is superior? 

THE BELGIAN AND HIS EIJTUEE. 

Now, this is the tale of the hare — 

A tale exceedingly short — 
Possibly also awry — see there! 

It's twisted — he did that in sport. 



FRUIT FROM THE RABBITRY. 135 

It's Genesis first in the book; 

A red and a black and a white — 
They mix them; and presto, look! 

^he rabbits have faded, quite. 

Then exodus — ont of the West, 

And exodus, — over the sea — 
And numbers? "Surely the 'pest' 

AYill cover the globe, won't he?'' 




FASHODA DUKE. 

Owned by Bliss Block, Boston, Mass 

No, for:— 

There's brains, and hutches, and feed, and air, 
And weather, and snuffles, and slobbers, and care, 
And scours, and worms, and fights, and cats, 
And dogs, and greens, and snakes, and rats; 
And everyone says, do this, do that — 
They're all fed different, and all get fat, 



136 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

And lots get spasms and lots get wet. 
The butcher gets some — don^t worry — yet. 

HE. P. 



NAMING THE COLOE. 

[Written for The Standard.] 

A man there was and his name was Smith 

And he spelled it without a y. 
His clan was mighty, his kin and kith 
Used y's and f s in the name of Smith, 
Until those without and also with 

Formed a noble family. 

Now another man and his name was Browne, 

And it ended with n and e. 
And though he throve in city and town 
And gathered fame and eked renown; 
The Smith mati topped the man named Browne, 

In his numerosity. 

So Browne was filled with carp and care, 

And a checkered brow wore he. 
And he sought and searched in cave a-nd lair, 
In countries near and far and fair. 
And wondered how and when and where 

He'd match Smith's progeny. 



FRUIT FROM THE RABBITRY. J 

He found a beast exceeding rare. 

And filled he was with glee. 
It wore a coat of brown, brown hair, 
It^s eye was ronnd and devil-may-care, 
So he called this thing a Belgian hare, 

And Smith — 0, where was he? 

Then straightway Smith was filled with dread. 

For his potentiality. 
He thought by day and at night in bed; 
'Till seeing the hare at last, he said: 
"Do you call this brown, why it^s Eufus red." 

And he cackled sardonically. — F. M. 

THEY ADD BY MULTIPLYING. 

There is a little Belgian Hare, 

An animal exceeding rare; 

And it is quite a sight to see ' 

It growing on a Eabbitry. 

And this is just the way it grows: 

It does seem strange, but goodness knows 

There are far stranger things about 

This animal, as I've found out. 

Now this seems contrary to rule 

That tho' they've never been to school 

They multiply quite rapidly. 

This fact has always puzzled me. 

And once I knew a man, and he 



138 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

Was owner of a Babbitry; 

And he said they — the Hares we buy — ■ 

Add profits as tliey multiply. 

And that is even stranger stilly 

I think, as I am sure yon will. — E. S. F. 

A BELGIAN HARE DITTY. 

Out from the East to the golden West^ 
There lately came as our bequest, 
A dainty rare, none can compare, 
The beauteous, winsome Belgian hare. 

That men admired ^tis well agreed. 
And proved it so with eager speed ;- 
They bro't their deepest thought to bear 
On the bonnie brown-eyed Belgian hare. 

Soon tales of wealth began to ring 
About this truly wondrous thing; 
Men doffed their hats, forgot their care. 
When musing on the Belgian hare. 

Their merits soon to woman came. 
Who are in the race for. worthy fame. 
So in the van with dash and dare 
She spread the claims of the Belgian hare. 



FRUIT PROM THE RABBITRY. 139 

'Till BOW we're sure man must admit 
She gained her place with brains and wit, 
With riches won she'll fain declare 
/' 'Twas surely due to the Belgian hare. 

When man and woman both unite. 
And in one cause declare a right. 
Success must crown their efforts fair, 
And a record make for the Belgian hare. 

Then hail the dawning century near, 
Which brings to us this charge so dear; 
May we their rights protect and dare 
Their cause to praise, our Belgian Hare. 

H. E. Tl. 



CHAPTER XII. 

ON CRATING AND FEEDING EXPEESSED 
HARES. 

The sale of a hare is not complete, until, in 
most cases, the purchaser acknowledges the receipt 
of the same in good condition. It is the shippers 
personal duty to see that every animal is crated 
and provided with food for the journey. 

In a shipment, the first thing to consider is the 
inimal; the second, the crate, and third, the food, 
with a sub-topic: Instructions concerning the 
animal on the journey. 

The hare, to be shipped, should be strictly 
healthy,- and if he is, it will be a long stride 
towards a successful shipment, for a hare does not 
receive much attention while en route; therefore, 
it requires more or less of a strain upon the hare's 
constitution to make a long or short journey suc- 
cessfully. 

The crate and crating should receive special 
attention, for it is the second only to the hare in a 
shipment. If the crate is ill constructed and 
heavy, it not only affects the hare, but the receiver 
is compelled, unnecessarily, to pay extra express 

140 




Pbopertt of the Centkal Belgian Habe Co. 
Westvili.e, Ind. 



141 



CRATING AND FEEDING. 143 

charges. A crate formed from a desirable box, 
having its sides and top of mesh wire, ends of thin 
lumber, but solid, with hand-holes of one small 
block qa each end^ under which can be placed 
the address of the consignee, on a card, whereon 
is printed the "Instructions to the Express Mes- 
senger/^ Each compartment in a crate should be 
sufficiently large enough to receive one hare, and 
not be crowded. A peaked or sloped top is the 
best for a shipping crate, not a flat top; if possible, 
a free circulation of air is very desirable; the sides 
and top are usually surrounded by other boxes. 

If a number of hares are to be shipped at the 
same time, it is best to make a crate with a series 
of compartments; for the one crate is not as cum- 
bersome, if properly constructed, as a number of 
crates. 

In the winter the sides of a crate can be made 
sufficiently solid and protected from the cold by 
placing some cheap cloth thereon. 

Provide cups, conveniently placed, for water 
and oats; the best shippers consider oats or rolled 
oats, with a supply of clover hay (placed within 
a two-inch mesh wire rack, fastened on one side 
of each compartment) sufficient food for a short, 
journey, or if a long one is to be contended with, 
fasten a bag (like an empty salt sack, small size) 
to the outside of the crate, filed with oats, so the 



lU STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

messenger can feed the hare or -hares. As to the 
amount of water; on a journey of a day or two, 
no water is really necessary where carrots have 
been placed in the box. Shipments have been 
made from England without any provision being 
made for supplying bunnie with food or water; but 
that is cruelty pure and simple. Think of a week 
or ten days' confinement without food or water! 

It is a good idea to have printed instructions 
placed on the crate, so the messenger will be 
guided in the care of the hares. Hares should not 
be fed very heavily on a journey^ for, if they are 
over-fed, by some one who does not understand 
their wants, and given all the water they can drink, 
(not to say ice w^ater, which is the only kind avail- 
able on the cars), it will cause serious sickness, 
such as, in young stock, the slobbers. 

If there is more than one crate to be shipped 
to the same party, ait one time, it is very essential 
that the ship)per call the express agent's atten- 
tion to the fact, so that they will be billed under 
one receipt. 

Many shippers seem to have the idea that hares 
can be shipped any way, so long as they are sold, 
but if is an all important duty of the shipper to 
do all that is necessary to make a successful ship- 
ment. 

Many hare breeders are making a great mistake 



CRATING AND FEEDING. 



145 



when tliey send out fine animals in nnsightly and 
cnmbersome boxes, or in boxes bearing all sorts 
of advertising of firms for whom they were orig- 
inally made. Some breeders may say, we are sell- 
ing ha/es, not boxes. That's all right, bnt how 
does it look? 

It is poor economy to nse snch cheap-John 




GENERAL DASH. 

Owned by Dr. Geo. F. Hall, 508 Eddy Street, 
Chicago. Score, 95-1-3. 



arrangements for shipping fine stock. A nice 
crate, with a good solid bottom, partly covered 
with wire screen or netting can be made for a 
trifle, also printed shipping cards should be used. 
This will make a good advertisement all along the 
route to destination, and possibly be the means 
of securing customers. 



146 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

The other day the expressman drove up to the 
office of a prominent dealer in Belgian hares and 
was endeavoring to unload a monstrous box. 
"Hello/^ says the dealer. ^^Hello/' says he. 
"What have you there?" "By cripe/' says the 
expressman, "I think it's a bear.'' Well, the box 
was unloaded, the lid pried off, and lo and 
behold, there was a pair of little animals that 
would weigh about twelve pounds, crouched in one 
corner. Now the writer had sent a check for the 
contents of that box that would have made a 
respectable payment on a farm, and to have them 
shipped in such a contraption as that is certainly 
not a credit to any concerned. 

Then again it must be remembered that the 
purchaser has to pay expressage on this carload 
of lumber, which your box contains, and you 
should therefore have some mercy on him. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PREPAEINa HARES FOR THE SHOW 
^ ROOM. 

To exhibit successfully, all specimens for the 
show pen should be put through a system of train- 
ing. To expect your animal to show off his fine 
points without teaching him to do so, is grossly 
unfair to the exhibit, and proves that you are not 
alive to the great advantages to be gained by put- 
ting a specimen through a proper course of train- 
ing. A fancier who is alive to the business will 
very soon see that his youngsters are handled at 
least once a day and put through a course of drill. 
The advantages of this cannot be over-estimated. 
It vrill apply equally, whether the specimen is 
judged by the -comparison system or by the score 
card system. The good results- will be the same. 
If you are an exhibitor see that the animal knows 
you; play with it frequently so that it will do all 
you teach it or can reasonably expect it to do. If 
this be done, and you have an exhibit that on all 
other points can compare with those you are com- 
peting with, you will, under judges who under- 
stand their business, and who do their work in a 
proper manner, come out of the competition with 
flying colors. One thing must always be remem- 

147 



148 STANDARD BELGIAN HARE BOOK. 

bered in connection with the show pen; never 
exhibit unless the specimen is in good condition, 
in fnll coat and well trained. 

Only a few points are here given for condition, 
training and coat, but in judging, the general 
bearing of condition, training and coat are so great 
that in many cases exhibits are left out of the 
money prize list when if they had been in condi- 
tion and coat and well trained they would have 
been far above the winner in all points of excel- 
lence. 

After you have selected the finest specimens 
from among your stock, for exhibition purposes, 
there are four things to consider: (1) Exercise, 
(2) Food, (3) G-rooming, (4) Training. 

(1) You cannot. begin too early to exercise your 
youngsters, for this is the only means to prevent 
dew-lap, lopped ears, and crooked feet. Place 
them in pens 10 feet long by 3 feet wide, with one 
or two hurdles, a foot high. Now, they can 
exercise whenever they feel like it. As you may 
not have the room to provide your grown-up speci- 
mens with pens of this size, make a runway of 
these same dimensions fitted with hurdles, and 
taking the hares, one by one, daily, make them 
keep a lively pace for a short while. At first, you 
will find very little exercise will suffice, but con- 
stant exercise brings strength and endurance. 




FiOCHDALE QUEEN. 

First Prize Winner, Chicago, 1901. Property of C. W. 
BowEN, 402 Dearborn Street, Chicago. 



149 



HARES FOR THE SHOW ROOM. 151 

You cannot expect a prize winner, if yoii keep 
it in a small hntcli with no place to exercise. 

(2) The finest oats are the best diet, as it gives 
mnscle without extra flesh. For variety, mix 
the oats with one-third wheat or bran. To give 
a glossy appearance to the coat, prepare the fol- 
lowing: Boil linseed meal until it becomes a 
soft mass, then make^^ stiff paste by adding barley 
meal and bran, in the proportion of one to two. 
This is especially good to assist moulting, giving 
a much richer coat. A little linseed meal put in 
the oats is also excellent. Feed carrots, dande- 
lions, apple and cottonwood boughs and peach 
leaves. See that they have plenty of salt. Give 
a small handful of hay, clover, alfalfa or timothy, 
night and morning. 

(3) They should be groomed daily, till there 
is not a loose hair on their coats. Use a soft 
bristle brush, one that will not scratch your hand; 
a long, narrow one, with a good handle is pre- 
ferred. Next use a chamois skin, finishing ofl: with 
hand-rubbing. 

(4) Your hares for exhibition purposes must 
be trained gently and thoroughly. When dropped 
on a table they should take the required position 
at once, without struggling, scratching or biting. 
This will require patience, skill and gentle treat- 
ment on your part. 



TflE HeNNEBERRY GoMPflNY. 

(Successors to Alhambra Book Co, 
and F. J. Drake & Co.) 
/ 

PUBLISHERS, 



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Brandy,Gin and how to make imitations of all kinds of liquors, 
etc., with full and valuable gauging tables. No home is com 
plete without this book and no merchant or farmer should 
be without it. Elegantly bound in cloth. 
Price $1 00 

Swine and Tiieir Diseases. By Robt. Jenning, V. S. This brief 
treatise on Swine and their Diseases is the best ever published, 
because of the simplicity of treatment and sure cure of every 
disease of the hog when the remedies are administered in 
time and in the manner prescribed in this handy little volume. 
The remedies are inexpensive ; most farmers constantly keep 
in the house about all the medicines recommended in this 
treatise. The great popularity of this book lies in the success 
its remedies have afforded ail who have had occasion to use 
them. Fully illustrated. 

Paper covers 25 cts. 

Cloth 50 cts. 

National Encyclopedia. The most complete and convenient 
hand book for quick reference published. Invaluable to the 
professional man, student, farmer, working man, merchant 
and mechanic. This book is now recognized by the public as 
one of the very best encyclopedias ever published. The pub- 
lishers are determined to keep it at the top, and have, there- 
fore, at tremendous expense, and by the combined efforts of 
many of the best minds, enlarged and revised the edition of 



1898, making it to day an invaluable and reliable Encyclo- 
pedia. Its contents is too voluminous to give even a sum- 
mary, but when it is said to contain all that many of the large 
andfarm.ore expensive works do, enough has been said to 
convince any thoughtful person of the folly to look further 
. or to hesitate in buying this work at once. City, County and 
State Superintendents in all sections of the country are not 
only using the book, but recommend it to parents and 
children. Over 1000 illustrations— over 1000 pages double 
columns. 
Extra pebble cloth, gold side and back stamp $2.00 

Herrmann's Conjuring for Amateujl's. A practical treatise 
on how to pei-form modern tricks, by Prof. Herrmann. Great 
care has been exercised by the author to include in this book 
only such tricks as have never before appeared in print. This 
assures the performer a secret and almost endless fund for 
suitable material to be used on all occasions. With little prac- 
tice, almost any one can perform the more simple tricks, and 
with practice, as he becomes more adept, he can perform the 
most difficult. No book published contains a greater variety 
of material for conjurers and sleight of -hand performers than 
this book. Coins, cards, silk hat, handkerchiefs, balls, are all 
introduced in the many programs offered, thus affording one 
an endless variety from which to select for parlor or stage 
entertainments. 

Paper covers 25 cts. 

Cloth , 50cts. 

Love Letters and How to Write Them. By Ingoldsby North 
Here is just the book not only for all unmarried folks, 
but other folks as well; while, of course, they may not 
use the language presented, still they will remind them of the 
time when they were just a little more particular about their 
correspondence. One hundred and forty styles are presented 
with notes and comments on each. There are also excellent 
rules and good advice on love, courtship and marriage that 
everybody ought to know. It won't hurt anybody to read 
these healthy chapters on the finer feelings of life. Follow 
the forms here laid down and you cannot go far astray ; 150 
pages. 

Paper covers 25 cts. 

ClotB 50 cts. 

Twentletli Century Guide to Palmistry. By the Zancigs. 
Here we have the simplest presentations of the Science of 
Modern Palmistry published. All of the discoveries, investiga- 
tions and researches of centuries are summed up in this 
practical ti-eatise on Palmistry. There is no trait, no charac- 
teristic, no inherited tendency that is not marked on the 
palm of the hand, and can be traced with unerring accuracy 
by following the principles and instruction laid down in this 
book, enforced by numerous timely illustrations of known 
historical personages. Even a casual reading of this book 
will enable us to know our own character better and give ua 
convincing proof of the sincerity or insincerity of friends — or 
professing ones. If a careful study is then made you will be 
astonished at the accuracy with which you can read the 
life-history of any one through the graven lines on the palms. 
Over 50 illustrations. 

Paper covers. 25 cts. 

Handsomely bound in cloth ,,,,,,,,,,...$1.00 



Modem Blacksmithinar, Rational Horseshoeing and Wa^on 
Making. By J. G. Holmsti'om. This valuable work 
is written by a mart of thirty years of practical experience. 
Elementary rules are employed, thus avoiding the more tech- 
nical terms, rendering this treatise practical and more inval- 
uable to all who have use for it. Even the oldest blacksmith or 
wagon maker will find many helpful suggestions and any 
young man can master the principles of these two useful arts 
by a careful study of this book. The rules and receipts will 
be found of great value to farmers, horseshoers, wagon 
makers, machinists, liverymen, well-drillers, manufacturers, 
as well as amateurs and young men on the farm. Fully 

illustrated. Cloth $1 00 

Half morocco 1 50 

Twentietti Century Cook Book and Practical Housekeeping:. 
The new century brings new and better things for us 
all. Old things are laid away and modern improve- 
ments take the place of everything we have had. In 
this, the latest Cook Book we have the fruits of centuries of 
investigations — improvements in ail lines of housekeeping 
especially cooking. This book is as much superior to all 
others as the 1900 reaper is to the cradle of our forefathers. 
Besides being the very latest it is also the largest and most 
reliable Cook Book published. Everything is practical, and 
out of the three or four thousand receipts the greater major- 
ity will be found serviceable in a majority of American 
homes.' While the aim has been to give receipts for all dishes, 
even the more elaborate have not been overlooked. For this 
reason The 20th Century Cook Book has found its way into 
the wealthiest families. There are double the number of 
receipts in this book than are found in any other book pub- 
lished. 816 large octavo pages, elegantly printed and fully 
illustrated. Bound in white oil cloth with marbled edges and 
embossed with handsome design in colors. Price $2 50 

Fortune Telling by Cards. By Madame Chiro. Describing 
how Cards are "Read" by persons professing to tell fortunes 
by their aid. Madame Chiro is without doubt the greatest 
Fortune Teller by means of Cards that has ever visited 
America, and this, her only and authorized book is like the 
author, without a peer. If you would learn to read fortunes 
as Madame Chiro does, this book will teach you, and with 
practice you will become as adept as the author herself. 

Fully illustrated. Paper covers 25 cts. 

Cloth 50 cts. 

The New Century Webster Dictionary. For the vest pocket. 
The very latest up-to-date. 28,000 words. This edition has 
been carefully and conscientiously eciited, using the work of 
the great Noah Webster as a bcisis, and conforming as far 
as possible with the views of such eminent philologists and 
orthoepists as Worcester, Whitney, Corbett and Ayres. It 
contains clear and concise definitions, correct accentuations 
and full markings of all difficult words, according to the 
highest authorities. It contains many new words lately 
coined and not found in any dictionary heretofore published; 
also a larger per centage of root words than any other book 
of its kind. Issued in two styles of binding. Size 25^x5Vi. 

194 pages. Silk Cloth, Red Edges, indexed 25 cts. 

Full Leather, Gold Edges, indexed 50 eta 

10 



ELIZABETH Agg GERMAN GARDEN 

ISlustrated 

What more can be said of this book than the epitomized utter- 
ances of the reviewers of current literature ? 

The TRIBUNE declares it is Charming. 

The HERALD exclaims, it is Enrapturing. 

The WORLD afBrms it is Enchanting. 

The GLOBE testifies it is Delightful. 

The SUN asserts it is Lovablb. 

The EXPRESS swears it is Captivating. 

The TJMES maintains it is Bewitching. 

The SRNXrNEL avows it is Alluring. 

The CHRONICLE avers it is Fascinating. 

The DISPATCH crys, it is Seductive. 

The POST acknowledges it is Pleaburablb. 

The JOURNAL deposes it is Amiable. 

The NEWS confesses it is Graceful. 

The GAZETTE states it is Attractive. 
Never before has a book called forth such testimony of sweet- 
ness, tenderness, freshness, gentleness, wholesomeness ; the read- 
er, in whatever walk or station of life, whether prosaic or poetic, 
unite in one universal acclaim : " There are not adjectives in the 
language strong enough, or numerous enough, to express the 
melodious harmony— the infinite, immeasurable, boundless 
beaut j^ of this sublime effort, 

Elizabeth in her German Garden." 

The old Schloss by the Baltic, the lawn, and those inimitable 
babies— sweetest gifts from Heaven — make this 

The riost Delightful Garden in all Literature. 
It is Par Excellence. 

Cloth, special cover design embossed in gold, gold top, silk 
ribbca book-mark. ^. «^ 

Price $1 00 

Telegraphy and How to Learn It, with brief chapters of Elemen- 
tary Electricity. The importance of uniting these two allied 
subjects is apparent to any one about to take up the study 
of Telegraphy, either for a livehliood or recreation, and whd 
nas not a rudimentary knowledge of the theory of Electricity. 
This book, therefore,treats of the Electro -Magnetic Telegraph 
in its simplest form and with an instrument and a little 
practice you will be surprised at the rapid advancement you 
will make by the aid of this treatise. Handsomely illustrated 
and bound in cloth. 

Price «1 00 

American Nights Entertainments, by Josephine Stafford. There 
is no book published, that can take the place of this handy 
little volume of original Games and Costume Parties. It is 
T.nique in the fact that it actually fills a place never attempt- 
ed before and at a price so reasonable as to be within the 
reach of everybody. Besides 26 original games, suitable for 
all kinds of parties, luncheons and teas, there are seven Cos- 
tume Parties for children, suitable for birthday parties, ama- 
teur vaudevilles, and Sunday school entertainments. Hand- 
somely bound. 

Paper Covers 25 cts. 

Cloth ' •••50 cts. 



Mookkeepinff 
Without a T^aater 



A valuable book for the student, clerk, tradesman and merchant. 

This is unquestionably the most complete and 

practical work of the kind published. 

The principles of the art of bookteeping' are clearly defined 
in plain language so that the student acquires with ease the 
exact knowledge necessary to the correct recording of accounts. 
It contains fourteen specimen pages of books used in single and 
double entry, embracing a complete and authentic system of 
single and double entry ledgers, day and cash books, journals; 
how to balance; the difference between single and double entry; 
about profit and loss, stocks, interests and discounts, sundry 
accounts, bill books, bills payable and receivable, etc. Printed 
on an extra fine quality of heavy book paper. Size, QxQYz inches. 

Bound in cloth $1.00 



THE MODERN ART 
OF MAKING LOVE 



And Complete Manual of Etiquette, Love, Courtship and riat- 

rimony. Something Every Boy and Girl, flan 

and Woman Ought to Know. 

Tells how to begin a courtship, when and whom to marry, 
the advisability of long and short courtships, points :o be ob- 
served in the selection of a husband or wife, the secret of pleasing 
a sweetheart, how to address and win the favor of ladies, ietc. 
Also contains a complete system of love telegraphy, handkerchief 
flirtation, a choice collection of sensible love letters, the language 
oi flowers, precious stones and their sij^mification, etc. 

Price, bound in paper. 25c. 

Price, bound in ctoth 50c. 






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THE HENNEBEKRY COMPANY. 



LB D '09 



The Des Plaines 
Belgian Hare Co. 

are headquarters for all the principle strains of Belgian 
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CtfAMPION DUKE OF 



CHESMIRE 



THE GRANDEST BUCK IN AMERICA. 

If you are going to start, we can start you right. If 
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: great "Duke of Cheshire" the greatest winner 
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THE BEST REMEDIES FOR ALL DISEASES. 



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